Original Prankster
by Lady Jaye1
Summary: Both the Justice League and the Legion of Doom find their hands full when the original King of Mischief, the faerie Puck, is forced out of hiding.
1. Enter Puck

_Disclaimer: I don't own JLU, Shakespeare's __A Midsummer Night's Dream__, or Disney's __Gargoyles__ (of which I've borrowed many ideas, especially from the episode 'The Mirror.)_

Original Prankster

Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.  
_Old adage_

Thou speak'st aright;  
I am that merry wanderer of the night.  
I jest to Oberon and make him smile  
When I a fat and bean-fed horse beguile,  
Neighing in likeness of a filly foal:  
And sometime lurk I in a gossip's bowl,  
In very likeness of a roasted crab,  
And when she drinks, against her lips I bob  
And on her wither'd dewlap pour the ale.  
The wisest aunt, telling the saddest tale,  
Sometime for three-foot stool mistaketh me;  
Then slip I from her bum, down topples she,  
And 'tailor' cries, and falls into a cough;  
And then the whole quire hold their hips and laugh,  
And waxen in their mirth and neeze and swear  
A merrier hour was never wasted there. (Act ii., Scene i.)

_Puck/Robin Goodfellow speaking about himself, __A Midsummer Night's Dream_

…………..x………….

**Chapter 1**: _Enter Puck_

"Watch it, he's getting away!"

Green Arrow fitted an arrow to his bow, drew back the bow string and released it. The arrow skimmed through the air as a large net opened out of where the arrowhead should have been. It enclosed about its target with a 'thud' as it hit the ground. Beneath the net, Copperhead struggled to free himself.

Unfortunately, he hadn't been the quarry that the Green Arrow was really after.

Oliver Queen watched in dismay as Lex Luthor, the Key, and Tala the sorceress disappeared in a blinding magical light. Not only had the sorceress pulled them to safety, but also the large flat item that they had stolen from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

They had taken an ancient, man-sized mirror. The Green Arrow as of yet did not understand the significance of this mirror. Nor did he yet realize that the day to come would be one of the most memorable in his life.

Green Arrow heard a deep sigh and turned to see that Dr. Fate had appeared next to him. The man did not appear happy.

"What did they steal?" Ollie asked carefully. To this, the wizard sighed again.

"They took the mirror of Titania, Queen of the Third Race."

Oh yes, it was going to be a _bad_ day.

…………….x…………….

"Titania's Mirror," Wonder Woman mused. "I've heard of it. I believe Mother mentioned it once."

The seven original members of the Justice League sat around the table in the boardroom. Green Arrow, Black Canary, Zatanna, and Dr. Fate had also joined them.

"Wait…you mean faeries actually _exist_?" John Stewart asked. To this, Zatanna and Dr. Fate nodded, as did Diana.

"They've gone by different names," Zatanna answered. "Some cultures have called them faeries, others dark elves."

"They are changelings…shape shifters," Dr. Fate continued. "They are creatures of pure magic. Not only that, but their magic is of a different sort than that used by human magi. It is wilder and more powerful."

There was a pause as the others digested this. Batman crossed his fingers as he narrowed his eyes. The Amazon princess appeared deep in thought as she tapped a finger to her lips.

"So…" the Flash finally said. "What does Baldy want with Tinkerbell's mirror?"

"I don't know," Dr. Fate admitted. "It is an ancient artifact of immense power. It was forged for Queen Titania by Hephaestus, on order of King Oberon. Princess," he said, turning to the Amazon. "You said you've heard of this mirror?"

"I have," Diana answered, "But Mother didn't say much about it. She met Titania and her court once." There was a pause as she continued dryly. "A faerie named Puck had the gall kiss her on the cheek, right before he pinched her nose." She glared suddenly when she noticed smirks on several faces.

"What?" she asked icily. No one dared to answer.

"I've read _A Midsummer Night's Dream_," Clark Kent finally said. The others gave him a disbelieving look, to which the farmer's son defensively replied that he'd read it in high school.

"Anyway," the Kryptonian continued with some embarrassment, "It's just a story, isn't it? Fiction?"

"The story itself is," Diana answered. "Shakespeare used my mother as a character." There was a pause, followed by a derogatory sniff. "She was supposed to marry a man named Theseus in it." Wally West began to snicker, but stopped at another glare from the powerful woman.

"Titania and Oberon rule the fae folk, also called Oberon's Children or the Third Race," Zatanna finally said. "However, about a thousand years ago, Titania and Oberon had a disagreement, to which Titania and several hundred of the fae were temporarily banished from Avalon. I'm afraid I don't know the true number. It may be higher."

"That's some disagreement," Shayera muttered.

"So what happened to Titania and her…er…minions?" Wally West asked.

"Wally!" Diana chastised.

"What?"

"They are not 'minions'."

"Okay, okay…" the Speedster amended. "So where are her cronies….?"

"Wally!"

"I'd keep your mouth shut if I were you Kid," the Green Lantern advised. The Flash flinched as Batman too turned to glare at him. The younger man shrugged to himself and crossed his arms. _Geez, doesn't anyone have a sense of humor?_

"I imagine they are hiding," Dr. Fate answered. "They keep out of sight, even from humans of the magical community. However, I do know that occasionally they take on a human body and live in the mortal realm."

"This is all nice and interesting," Green Arrow finally interrupted. "But what about the mirror?"

…………..x……………

Lex Luthor smiled to himself as he examined the ancient mirror. A dark gold frame adorned the clear mirror. Engraved into the gold were delicate images of leafy vines and silver studded stars.

"So with this mirror, I can control a fae?" he asked. Lex resisted the urge to touch the strange object. He had learned from long experience that one did not randomly touch mysterious magical objects.

Not unless you were prepared to face the consequences at any rate.

"Yes," Tala answered. Her long hair swayed as she glided gracefully up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. It lingered there for a moment before she used it to point at the mirror.

"A fae can be summoned if the human knows its true name, but only if it is nearby," she continued. "This mirror acts as an amplifier for fae magic. It not only increases a fae's power, but one that has been summoned through the mirror can be controlled by the summoner."

"Then what're we waiting for?" The Key asked. "Then let's summon the most powerful…Titania or Oberon." Luthor turned sharply on the other man.

"We? _I _will summon the creature. It will answer to me and _only_ me," he growled.

"Not the rulers," the sorceress advised carefully. "They are too powerful to be controlled, even with the mirror."

"Then who?" Luthor countered. "You said yourself that a faerie's true name must be invoked." To that, Tala smiled.

"If we can not summon the king or queen, then let us summon their servant. Puck, or Robin Goodfellow as Shakespeare called him, is said to be a faerie of great power," she said.

"Puck?" The Key questioned. "He actually exists too? I thought he was fake?"

"No," the sorceress shook her head. "He is real. Shakespeare supposedly met the real Puck once and used him as a character in his play. At least, that is the story among the magical community."

"You suggest that I summon a known trickster?" Lex asked, raising an eyebrow. "What are you playing at Tala?"

"A known trickster who will be under your control," she pointed out. "Not only will the mirror and the spell give you control, but these chains will also prevent him from attempting escape." She pointed to a thin, heavy metal chain that she had wrapped around the mirror.

"Iron is their kryptonite." Tala ran a finger along the metal chain. "This chain isn't entirely iron, as that would poison a fae and limit their magic. However, there is a sufficient amount present to prevent him from being able to break the chain." She turned to Lex.

"We are able to proceed. Unless, of course, you doubt your own abilities to control a fae," she continued slyly. Lex glared at her and crossed his arms.

"I am quite confident in my abilities," Luthor answered dryly.

"Then what're we waiting for?" the Key asked. "The League to find us?"

"Yes, I agree," Lex said. He nodded his head as he held out his hands to Tala.

"What do I need to do, sorceress?"

……………….x…………….

Helena Bertinelli paused as she looked at her watch. _10:38 am._ Vic had promised to meet her for an early lunch.

Surpringly, she had convinced him to eat at somewhere else _besides_ McDonalds. She shook her head. That man…

For all his supposed crack headed conspiracy theories, Vic Sage had double standards. While complaining about government monopolies and corporate conglomerates, he had no problem with shopping at clearly corrupt places like Walmart or eating at massive fast food chains that were probably conspiring to give everyone heart burn.

Double standards. Infuriating man.

The Huntress gave a start when the left rearview mirror of her car suddenly cracked. Frozen, she stared at the mirror with a small shiver of dread. _Seven years bad luck…_

With a shake of her head, the Helena ignored the incident. She wasn't terribly superstitious by nature. However, the back of her mind still wondered why the mirror had cracked in the first place.

Was it an omen?

……………….x…………..

As instructed, Luthor faced the mirror and let out a long breath. Holding a silver bell in his right hand, he tapped an ancient gold ring against it. Four times he tapped it and four times he was answered by the crystal clear 'ting' of the bell.

"_Cum iskeret argentum, et aum involare. Postea Puck ad speculum, Titania penetrare!" _Lex spoke the spell clearly. Taking a white feather from Tala, he blew it towards the mirror. The feather floated gently down, brushing against the mirror.

The mirror shimmered like clear water. The feather disappeared into the mirror.

_This had better work_, Lex thought. To his relief the mirror began to glow from within with a soft green light. The light increased rapidly in intensity until it flashed like lightning. As the humans watched, a slender figure was forcefully pulled through the mirror and deposited at their feet.

There was a long moment of silence as the figure knelt on the ground, long silver hair obscuring the face. Long, pointed ears jutted out from beneath the hair.

Clear blue eyes met Lex's as the fae looked up at him, giving him a clear view of his face. His face, long and slender and nearly as pale as milk; high cheek bones and a long fragile nose framed the suspicious eyes studying him.

"Stand up Puck, I am your master now," Luthor ordered. The elf-like creature tilted his head as a quizzical expression crossed his face. Then with a graceful leap, the fae jumped to his feet. He was short, barely over five feet tall from Lex's estimate. The faerie looked around curiously before…

"Is this how you welcome _all_ your guests?" the faerie whined, crossing his arms in annoyance.

"You're not a guest, you're my servant!" Lex snapped.

"Oh _foo_." Puck glared down at the chains binding his upper arms to his body. His lower arms were still free for limited movement. They had magically bound him after being pulled through the mirror.

"You just _had _to use iron, didn't you?" he continued to complain. Puck bounced on his feet as he stared accusingly at the tall, bald man in front of him.

"I had to make sure you don't try to escape," Lex smirked. "Of course, the spell and the mirror should prevent that. However, a smart man takes precautions." He felt a twinge of irritation as the faerie rolled his eyes dramatically.

"You have a problem serving humans, Elf?" he growled. The faerie's eyes twinkled merrily as he danced a step towards Lex.

"Nope!" Puck answered. "Humans are fun, Puck finds them fascinating. Most have a sense of humor…" Here he leaned in closer to Lex to glare at him and point an accusing finger, "however, _you_ do NOT!"

"You break my heart Puck," Luthor answered dryly, pushing the smaller man away. "I laugh at many things. My favorite joke is when I get to hurt Superman and the League."

The fae snorted in reply. He looked around before floating up in the air, gazing around him in unbridled curiosity. Before Lex and the others could react, the faerie began zipping around the room to prod with fascination at various objects in the room.

"Wow!" the faerie exclaimed, zipping over to a display case. "The Spear of Longitis!"

"Puck!" Luthor roared. He yanked hard on the length of metal chain in his hand, Puck's own personal leash.

Grumbling, the faerie floated back down to him. Lex failed to see the covert glance that Puck sent his way, glaring darkly at the partially iron chain.

"Oh _fiiiine_. Let's just get this over with, shall we?" Puck asked, still floating in the air. He zoomed once around the room before coming back to float in front of Luthor. "Out with it, I haven't got all night!"

"You've got all eternity if I wish it!" Luthor yelled, trying unsuccessfully to hold in his growing irritation. He swiped angrily at the faerie. Puck zipped quickly out of the way and came back to float just outside of Luthor's reach.

"What?" Puck asked flippantly. "An eternity of service for a mortal?"

"I once had immortality!" Luthor snapped. He growled as the faerie grinned mockingly before zipping around the room a few more times.

"Oh yes, I forgot," the faerie replied sarcastically, continuing to float about the room. "You've still got your panties in a bunch from being separated from your beloved Siamese twin, Brainiac. Have you considered counseling?"

"Enough!" Luthor yelled. He felt Tala place a hand on his shoulder and Lex forced himself to calm down.

"How does he know about Brainiac?" the Key asked. The three humans looked at each other and then up at the faerie. Puck whistled innocently to himself as he floated above their heads.

"_Puuuck_?" Lex asked warningly.

"Puck knows many things," the faerie answered. His eyes twinkled merrily as he cheerfully regarded his 'master.' He zipped up to Luthor until his long nose was centimeters from Luthor's.

"I suppose you want immortality again, hmmmm?" Puck asked. His body turned in midair until the faerie was floating upside down.

"Of course you dimwit! With Brainiac, I had achieved virtual godhood!"

"And you want to be a god again, is that it?" Puck asked cheerfully. He floated over to Titania's mirror, landed, and leaned casually against it. "What does this look like, Aladdin's lamp?" He asked sarcastically. "I have limits you know."

"The mirror will amplify your powers," Tala answered, crossing her arms. Puck tilted his head as he regarded the sorceress. Then he turned around and tapped the surface of the mirror with one of his long fingers.

"What is it you_ reeeaaally_ want?" the faerie questioned dryly, eyeing Lex. The surface of the mirror shimmered and then cleared to reveal the image of a tall man dressed in blue. A large red 'S' adorned his chest.

"You want Superman?" the faerie asked mockingly. "Oh how quaint! I never knew you swung that way Luthor…"

"I don't you twit! I want him dead! That's what I want!" Luthor bellowed, a vein threatening to pop in his head. There was a sudden pause as a thought occurred to him. Lex rubbed his chin thoughtfully as a smirk grew to replace his earlier annoyance.

"Yes Puck…" Luthor said with new conviction. "I want you to kill Superman. He's vulnerable to magic."

"Kill?" the faerie asked merrily.

"Yes! Destroy him!"

With a mischievous smile, the faerie floated down next to Lex and hovered inches above the ground.

"Now did you say_ destroy_ him or destroy _him_?" Puck asked cheerfully. Seeing Luthor preparing to strike him, the faerie winked out and reappeared close to the mirror.

"Oh never mind, I'll figure it out," the faerie added, shrugging his shoulders. He clapped his hands together and rubbed them gleefully. _This just might be fun after all..._

Puck stepped out in front of the mirror and turned to face it. Floating a couple of feet into the air, he stretched out his lower arms to the mirror and spread his fingers. His eyes glowed with hidden power and a soft green light shimmered around the faerie.

"_Beware Superman, Lex Luthor your sight doth offend; thus Puck will hasten to amend. Begone Kal'El, Last Man of Krypton, be ye not Superman forevermore!"_

The three watching humans covered their eyes as Puck shot a blinding light from his hands, eyes, and mouth at the mirror. Instead of reflecting off, the magical energy disappeared through the mirror.

The light dimmed and Puck landed.

"Did you do it?" Luthor asked excitedly. "Is he gone?" Puck turned to him, eyes still aglow with magic light.

"Yes," Puck answered cheerfully. "_He_ is gone. I did _exactly_ as you asked!"

"Excellent," Luthor smiled malevolently. "But still I want to check. In the meantime…let's see what else you can do."

Puck hid a smirk, his eyes wild with barely contained mirth.

"Yes…" the faerie said quietly. "Let's see what merriment I can chance upon to play today."

…………….x……………

"Look," Superman stated, waving his hand. "It doesn't matter at the moment what this mirror may be able to do. The important thing is, it's dangerous in Luthor's hands."

"Yeah," Flash added. "We'd better find it and get it back before His Baldness uses it."

"How?" Shayera asked. "We can't…" The Thanagarian gasped as a bright light suddenly enveloped Superman. Clark gave a cry of surprise as he was picked magically out of his seat and pulled into the air.

"What's going on!?" John yelled. They all went on the defensive when a flash of green lightning appeared out of thin air and struck the Kryptonian.

"It's magic!" Zatanna yelled. She pulled out her wand and pointed it at the energy that surrounded the writhing Clark. She fired a burst of magic, which bounced off of the green light.

"It's fae magic," Dr. Fate said with forced calmness. "It must be the mirror." The others stared wide eyed as Batman attempted to reach out to Superman.

Bruce's eyes widened as his eyes adjusted to the now dimming green light. Clark's shoulders were suspiciously smaller, his height shorter, his hips wider…

His eyes paused on the Kryptonian's altered chest.

There was a complete silence as all eyes stared at the now female Clark Kent.

"Ummm…." Flash stuttered in confusion. "Super…_woman_!?"

Faintly, the Scarlett Speedster thought he heard the sounds of light, cheerful laughter.

...x...

_Author's Notes_:

I got the idea for this story from an episode of _Gargoyles_ called "The Mirror". However, many of the ideas are my own. I did pull a few quotes from Puck, of which I will list below so I'm not completely plagiarizing.

I've also posted youtube links for 'The Mirror' on my author profile for anyone who wants to watch it, as I pulled most of my inspiration for Puck from this episode (and other episodes) and _A Midsummer Night's Dream_. Brent Spiner does a wonderful job voicing the character. The Puck of this story, in my mind, sounds and looks much like the Puck from this series.

As for Puck, our little hellion will continue to raise even more mischief and chaos in following chapters as he puts his own twists on Luthor's commands. (And takes a few liberties of his own.)

_Stolen quotes or ones I paraphrased from:_

"They are changelings…shape shifters, creatures of pure magic."

"Cum iskeret argentums, et aum involare. Postea Puck ad speculum, Titania penetrare!" (With fire, silver, and gold combined, I summon Puck to pass through Titania's Mirror.)

"Is this how you welcome all your guests?"

"Serving humans is fun. They have a sense of humor. You…have NONE."

"Let's just get this over with, shall we? Out with it, I haven't got all night!"

"You have an entire millennium if I choose!"

"What does this look like, Aladdin's lamp? I have limits you know."

"What is it you_ reeeaaally_ want?"

"Did you say that _human_ or _that_ human? Oh never mind, I'll figure it out. This just might be fun after all."


	2. Playtime

_Disclaimer: I don't own JLU, Shakespeare's __A Midsummer Night's Dream__, or Disney's __Gargoyles__ (of which I've borrowed many ideas, especially from the episode 'The Mirror.)_

Original Prankster

**Chapter 2: **_Playtime_

"Er…what just happened?" John Stewart asked. The Leaguers looked at each other and then turned their heads to stare at the dark haired woman in blue and red spandex. She blinked her blue eyes and stared back at them.

"What the…?" the Kryptonian woman gasped. "You've all changed genders!"

There was a very _long_ pause.

"Um…guys? Why're you all staring at me?" Clark asked. Everyone continued to gape at her.

Bruce Wayne rubbed his forehead and muttered a curse. Wally began to snicker and was quickly elbowed in the ribs by Zatanna. Confusion passed over the female Clark's face.

"His memories were altered," J'onn stated. This time the snort of laughter came from Oliver Queen.

"This isn't funny Ollie," Diana rebuked. The Green Arrow held up his hands in defense.

"Okay okay," Ollie amended. "It's just that he…_er_…she…thinks that he, she…dammit!"

"Has always been a woman?" Wally offered helpfully. The speedster winced when the Green Lantern smacked the back of his head. John glared, not quite sure how either Wally or Ollie could find amusement in the situation. Wait…was Shayera trying to hide a smirk too?

Okay, make it _three_ idiots who couldn't sympathize with Clark.

"What are you saying?" Clark asked carefully. She crossed her arms and tried to glare sternly at them. To her surprise, the males in the room froze while the women gave her bemused looks.

That was odd, even Bruce seemed somewhat wary of her.

"We're saying that you're supposed to be a man," Zatanna answered. "Luthor must have used the mirror to…"

"Why would Luthor turn him into a woman?" Black Canary questioned. The others looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

"To embarrass him?" Ollie suggested. "Who knows? I think Brainiac screwed up his mind."

"I'm telling you that I'm not a man…!" Clark protested.

"Save it Kent! Your memories were altered," Bruce glared. There was a pause as the billionaire thoughtfully eyed his friend. To what extent had Kent's memories changed?

"Kent, what gender is Lois?" he asked.

"Male, why?" Clark asked in confusion. Bruce smacked his forehead and swore incoherently. John groaned.

"Er..I take it that's the wrong answer," the Kryptonian said. Both Ollie and Wally hid identical smirks, but Shayera failed to stop a snicker. This time it was Diana who sighed.

"Hera," the Amazon muttered. "Give me strength."

"A _woman_. Lois is a _woman_," Bruce sighed. "You're in love with a woman, what does that suggest Kent?"

Clark's face flushed bright red. Bruce sighed again as Wally began to laugh hysterically.

"You're not a lesbian Clark."

…………x……………

"I'm _boooored_!"

Lex ignored the fae as he tapped his fingers on the keyboard. To be honest, now that he could wish for anything within Puck and the mirror's power, Luthor was somewhat at a loss of where to begin. There were so many options.

Not that he'd admit that though. Lex Luthor was supposed to be the man with backup plans for the backup plans.

Except, unfortunately, this time he didn't. Tala had sprung the idea on him a few days ago. Intrigued, Luthor had agreed to 'liberate' the mirror from the museum.

"Whatcha looking at Lexie?" Puck asked. Lex gave a start when he realized that Puck was standing on top of his head. Long silver hair obscured his view of the computer as the fae bent down to peer at the monitor screen. Oddly enough, Lex barely felt the weight on his head.

"Puuuck," Luthor warned. "Get off of my head. Now!"

"You don't have a plan, do you?" Puck gloated, floating into the air. The fae snickered when Luthor whirled around in his chair to glare up at him.

"Of course I have a plan!" Lex snapped.

"Uh huh."

"Are you asking for trouble Elf?" the human snapped angrily. The fae's face lit up in delight. Lex raised an eyebrow before chuckling dryly and crossing his arms. He leaned back in his chair and regarded the fae with a smirk.

"Of course you are," Lex answered himself, "you're Puck."

The fae watched curiously as the human stood up and began to pace thoughtfully around the room. When he was sure Luthor wasn't looking, Puck glared darkly down at the partially iron chain that bound him. Unfortunately, the mortal had fastened the chain to the chair. Puck was unable to escape.

Or was he?

Puck's eyes twinkled mischievously as he pointed two fingers at the chair. With a puff, the chair was transformed into a mere two inch version of itself. Satisfied that he had successfully freed his chain from the now minuscule chair, the fae snickered with mirth.

By this time Lex had noticed Puck's little escapade. The fae watched in great amusement as the bald headed man turned around, his mouth gaping wide in surprise. With a wink and a cheerful smile, Puck zipped out of the room.

The fae whistled to himself as he floated through the Legion of Doom's headquarters. The furious bellowing of a one Lex Luthor could be heard even several rooms away.

Oh, the fae knew that the spell invoked through Titania's mirror prevented him from straying too far from Luthor without his permission.

That didn't mean he still couldn't have fun though.

…………..x…………

Clark Kent stared at the images on the computer screen. Bruce had pulled up past images and video clips of the Kryptonian.

Cripes. She _was_ supposed to be a man.

Which, actually, led her to a rather embarrassing dilemma. It hadn't taken the Kryptonian long to realize that she lacked some support in a rather awkward area. Whatever spell had been cast, its caster hadn't seen fit to include a bra in with the deal.

"Er…Shayera?" Clark asked hesitantly. The Thanagarian woman was, at the moment, the nearest female that Clark felt reasonably comfortable in confiding this secret to.

Unfortunately, a certain Scarlet Speedster was also lounging in a nearby chair.

"Uh…" Crap. How was she…he…whatever…supposed to ask this?

Shayera Hol looked expectantly at him. Clark felt her face redden and she cleared her throat uncomfortably.

"Ah…well, uh…" she stammered. Finally, at a loss of what else to do with Wally, Clark simply sighed and pointed an accusing finger at the Scarlet Speedster.

"Hey!" Wally protested loudly. "What'd _I _do!?"

Shayera glared at him. The Flash zoomed off.

"So…" the Thanagarian asked. "What did you want to ask me?"

Face flushing in embarrassment, Clark gestured for her to lean closer. The Kryptonian whispered in her ear and explained the problem in a stammering voice.

"Oh," Shayera answered. "Oh!" After a pause, she too reddened in embarrassment. The Thanagarian regarded the other woman as she unconsciously pulled on a strand of red hair.

"Um…." she continued. Damn this was weird. "I think we'll need to talk to Diana, you two are probably closer in size," she finally said. The red in Clark's face deepened. Shayera forced herself to hide a snicker at his discomfort.

After all, borrowing a bra from Wonder Woman could hardly be the highlight of Superman's career…even if he was temporarily a woman.

…………..x…………

Puck peered curiously around the corner. Having turned himself invisible, the fae watched as Legion members went about their business. What mayhem could he cause before Luthor summoned him back?

The fae winked out and reappeared in a corridor on the west end of the compound. Looking around he spotted a set of restrooms to his left.

Puck smiled and floated through the door of the women's restroom. He paused, and disguising his voice as a woman's, called out.

"Hello? Anyone in here?"

No one answered. The faerie gave a satisfied nod and floated back out into the corridor. He turned to face the door of the women's restroom and stretched out his hands.

"_Beware, she who enters here; for Puck has determined, this fun you should not fear. There shall be one, where once there were two; as the British would say, two doors…one loo."_

Magical green light bathed the entrance to the women's restroom and subsided. Grinning madly, the Puck sat floating in the air and waited.

...x...

Volcana raced madly past rooms. Wincing, she willed herself to go faster. There was one around here, she knew it…

Aha!

The villainess sighed in relief as she finally spotted the women's restroom. She practically flung herself through the doors, vowing never again to consume energy drinks. The blasted things went straight through you.

"**The hell!?"**

Volcana froze. An array of urinals lined the left wall while only a few stalls were to the right.

Atomic Skull and the Mirror Master also happened to be using the said urinals. It was in fact they who had yelled at her.

Volcana swore, turned around, and ran back out. She whirled around and stared at the door she had just run out of. The sign said 'Women'.

The hell? Muttering darkly, she ran into the room marked 'Men.' Some joker had undoubtedly switched the signs…

Volcana came to a screeching halt. She was back in the men's restroom. Atomic Skull and Mirror Master were staring at her again.

"What the hell Woman!?" Atomic Skull yelled. Volcana let out a frustrated scream as she hopped back and forth on her feet.

"To hell with this!" She screamed. The villainess pushed past the two men and flung herself into an empty stall.

Puck flew somersaults in the air as he laughed to himself. What else, oh what else could he do? There was so much and so little time!

The fae came to a halt as his eyebrows lifted in mischief. There was a human book he'd read once. What was that character's name again? The one that haunted a toilet?

Aha! Moaning Myrtle! That was it!

The Puck flew into the men's restroom and deposited himself, still invisible, into an empty stall.

"It's not my fault!" he heard Volcana yell. "I tried the door that said 'Women's restroom' and I came in here!"

"Then why didn't you go to the other one!" Atomic Skull bellowed back.

"I did you jack ass!" the woman retorted back. Fire engulfed her hands as she glared threateningly at the two men. The trio froze when the restroom door banged open to reveal Killer Frost standing at the entrance.

The pale woman surveyed them all coolly. There was silence as she turned and left, only to reappear seconds later.

"I told you!" Volcana shouted again, pointing a finger at Atomic Skull.

"Listen you…!"

At that moment, Puck decided to test the toilets…all of them. In a fountain of watery glory, water spewed up from the toilets and rained down upon the villains in a cold torrent. Deciding that wasn't enough, he also made the paper towel dispensers go haywire.

Paper towels flew around the restroom in a frenzied tornado.

Volcana shrieked. Atomic Skull cursed. Mirror Master whimpered. Killer Frost glared coolly about her.

Cupping his hands to his mouth, Puck began moaning in a loud, eerie voice.

"A GHOST!! RUN!!" Mirror Master screamed. There was a stampede as the four villains rushed out of the restroom.

Puck perched himself on top of a sink and laughed merrily.

……………x………….

Lex Luthor ground his teeth. Damn that elf! He slammed his fist down upon a table.

"I'll kill him," he growled.

"He can't have gone far," Tala told him calmly. "The spell prevents it."

"You said that I could control him!" Lex snapped. The sorceress refused to rise to the bait. Instead, she placed a calming hand on his arm. Luthor took a deep breath and forced himself to cool down.

"That's better," Tala said.

"How do I get him to come back?" Lex finally asked.

"You just have to summon him."

Lex smirked darkly to himself as he debated on how to punish the fae. The leader of the Legion of Doom suddenly raised his eyebrows when the sounds of distant screaming reached his ears.

He and Tala looked at each other.

"What…?" she started to ask. There was a loud 'bang' as Volcana and Atomic Skull blasted through the wall.

"Haven't you people ever heard of doors!?" Lex yelled. The two villains ignored him and began gesturing wildly towards the direction of the restrooms.

"A ghost!" Atomic Skull shouted. "There's a damn ghost in the bathroom!"

"It did something weird to the women's restroom door!" Volcana wailed. "It only leads into the men's room!"

"I think you've found Puck," Tala remarked dryly.

……………..x…………..

"Hmm…I wonder what all the commotion's about?" the Penguin questioned. The fat man ignored a psychotic laugh from the clown next to him.

"No doubt Luthor's new pet is behind it," the Joker grinned. The Penguin adjusted the lens on right eye and gave the other man a quizzical look.

"New pet?" he questioned. Joker leaned back in his chair and crossed his right leg over the other.

"Tell him Harley dear," the clown commanded. The woman to his right enthusiastically jumped up.

"Right away, Mr. J!" Harley Quinn answered cheerfully. She reached into an oversized red purse and pulled out a large picture. Dancing over to the Penguin, she paused on one foot and unrolled it.

"Tada!" She held the photo out to the overweight man. The Penguin leaned closer and adjusted his eye piece again. The photo showed the image of an elf-like creature emerging from an ancient mirror.

"Intriguing," the Penguin muttered. "How long ago was this?"

"A few hours," a new voice piped up. "And it's been ever so much _fun_!"

"Eeep!" Harley jumped and hid behind Joker. The Penguin rubbed his chin thoughtfully as the Joker began to laugh madly.

A silver haired elf was floating in the air before them. A thin metal chain bound his upper arms to his torso. A long piece of chain trailed behind the strange creature like a leash.

"I believe introductions are in order," the Penguin said calmly. The elf creature gave a charming smile as he landed and bowed dramatically.

"I am Puck," the fae answered. "And _I_ already know your names."

"Puck?" Penguin asked, surprised. "As in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'?"

"The very same," the fae smirked. "Although the story itself isn't true." Blue eyes twinkled as the faerie bounced lightly on his feet.

"To what do we owe this pleasant surprise?" the Joker asked. He was in fact quite pleased. He'd been wanting to get his hand on Titania's Mirror ever since he'd discovered that Luthor was after it.

"Puck will have to be brief," the fae answered apologetically. "The Bald One wants him back." Puck winked out and reappeared next to Harley. The woman squeaked when she found the fae sitting nonchalantly on her shoulder.

"I have a challenge for you," the fae added cheerfully, looking at the Joker.

"A challenge?" Penguin echoed. The Joker smiled and leaned towards the fae.

"Go on," Joker urged. The fae grinned mischievously as he clapped his hands together as if in prayer.

"I want you to play a game with me," he answered. Harley and Penguin gaped at him as the Joker continued to smile.

"Games!" Harley exclaimed. "_Ooooh!_ I _love_ games! I…"

"Hush Harley dear, let Mr. Puck continue," Joker reprimanded, waving her off. The young woman shut her mouth and peered curiously at the fae still perched lightly on her shoulder.

Puck leaned closer to Joker. His eyes danced with hidden mirth.

"I challenge you to the Laughing Game," the faerie said. The Joker blinked and gave a wry chuckle.

"The Laughing Game he says," the clown laughed, looking at both Harley and Penguin. "Doesn't he know that _I'm_ the master at laughing?"

"Not you," the Puck corrected. The Joker looked at him. Still grinning, he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees.

"Well then my pointy eared friend," he said. "Just how does this _Laughing Game_ work?"

"It's simple," Puck answered. Green sparks flew as he clapped his hands together twice. The Penguin forced his face to remain impassive as a stone image of Luthor emerged up from the floor. The fae then leapt gracefully off of Harley Quinn's shoulder and landed on top of the Luthor statue.

"The object," Puck continued, raising a finger, "Is simply to make Lexie Boy laugh. The first to do so wins." To demonstrate his point, the statue of Luthor began to laugh hysterically.

"Intriguing. Intriguing," the Joker said cheerfully, gesturing with his hands. Bringing his hands together, the clown peered over his fingers at the grinning fae. "I enjoy a good joke as much as the next man, unless they're dead of course, but what do I get out of playing?"

"Yes," the Penguin finally added. "What are the terms, if I may ask?"

"Why, the terms are simple!" Puck exclaimed with mock surprise. He tapped the stone statue and it stopped laughing. The fae balanced himself on the nose of the fake Luthor, his arms outstretched like fake wings.

"If I win, you have to tell me a secret," he said. The Joker gave him a considering look before smirking slyly.

"Any secret?" the clown asked craftily.

"Yes," the fae answered. "But it must be one I don't already know. If it is one I do know, you must keep telling me secrets until I find one that is new."

"How do I know that you won't be lying?" the Joker asked with dark humor. "Maybe I'll tell you one that you don't know, but you'll claim to have heard it." The fae smiled.

"The terms of our agreement will be bound by magic. If it is one I don't know, my magic will not compel you to continue."

"Hmm…" the Joker stared at the elven man. This really was intriguing. It may even be fun. However…

"And if _I_ win?" he asked. This was, after all, the most important reason for the criminal.

"If you win…" here the fae leaned dramatically towards the psychotic clown. "I'll tell you the true identity of one member of the Justice League." The Joker's eyes widened as Harley gasped.

"The Bat?" the Joker violently grabbed the faerie and pulled him close. The clown brought his face up the fae's and glared darkly. "You'd tell me the Bat's name?"

The faerie disappeared from the Joker's grasp and reappeared just out of arm's reach.

"One member," Puck restated firmly. "Puck will not say who. If you win, you'll find out."

The Joker stared at him, intrigued.

"Um…Mr. J?" Harley asked hesitantly. "You sure you want to do this?" The woman gazed with barely hidden uncertainty at the magical creature. The fae gave her a charming smile and she felt her distrust evaporate.

"Come come my dear, what's the harm? It'll be fun!" Joker exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. He began to chuckle darkly as he eyed the bemused faerie.

"Well then," Joker said, holding his hand out to the fae. "What're we waiting for, the Bat to spoil the fun? Let's get this party started!"

"Knock him dead Mr. J!" Harley cheered.

"In time, perhaps," Joker agreed. "But not yet. It's not nice to kill such a charming guest when you're first making a deal, Harley dear."

Puck smiled as he clasped the Joker's hand with his slender one. Green light flickered over their clasped hands.

"**PUCK!" **

Puck and the Joker looked to their right to find an irate Luthor glaring across the room at them. The faerie gave a mischievous grin as he zipped over to Luthor, the iron chain flapping behind him.

Dark, psychotic laugher filled the room as the Joker advanced towards Luthor and the fae.

"_Puck_," Luthor growled, warily eying the clown. "What did you _do_?" The faerie shrugged his shoulders innocently and gave a saintly smile.

"The Laughing Game… is about to commence," the Puck answered cheekily.


	3. The Laughing Game

_Disclaimer: I don't own JLU, Shakespeare's __A Midsummer Night's Dream__, or Disney's __Gargoyles__ (of which I've borrowed many ideas, especially from the episode 'The Mirror.)_

Original Prankster

**Chapter 3: **_The Laughing Game_

The Laughing Game had started.

To say that Luthor was pleased with the prospect, well, that was a gross_ over_statement.

"Come now Lexie, don't be such spoil sport," Joker grinned. Lex growled as he suspiciously eyed the clown. He was strongly aware of the smirking fae at his side.

"You!" Luthor shouted. He yanked hard on the metal chain in his hand and brought the short fae up to eye level. The human glared menacingly into a pair of ancient blue eyes, but to no avail. The fae only shrugged nonchalantly.

"I can't stop it," Puck explained. "Our agreement is bound by magic."

"Then unbind it!"

"Caaan't," the fae sang in reply. Luthor's scowl deepened as the fae's eyes glowed with magic.

"What are you playing at fae?" he growled. The faerie gave an impish smile. Lex gave a start when a large lounge chair appeared next to him.

"Sit down Lexie Old Boy," Puck advised. "You need to relax and unwind!"

"I don't need to…!"

Lex stopped himself and took a deep, calming breath. He was losing control of the situation. In order to regain it, Luthor was going to have to play along for now. At least, until he found a suitable moment to remind the fae that _he_ was in charge.

Puck would learn to regard him as his master.

"Alright fae, I'll play your game for now," Luthor warned dryly. He sat down in the chair and crossed his arms. However, Lex had no intention of giving neither Puck nor Joker the satisfaction of a laugh, no matter how long this ridiculous game took.

"Marvelous!" Joker exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "I'll go first!"

"Get 'im Puddin'!" Harley cheered. Joker bowed to her and then turned a malevolent smirk to Luthor and Puck.

The Penguin readjusted his eyepiece before looking over at the fae.

"Excuse me, good sir," the Penguin said as he addressed the fae. The silver haired trickster gave him a curious look. "I don't suppose that you could conjure a chair up for me as well? I'd like to watch the show."

Puck looked over at Luthor. Lex gave an exasperated sigh. _NOW he's asking for my permission?_ The bald mortal nodded his head in assent. With a grateful sigh, Penguin settled into a green armchair to watch the entertainment.

"Lady and gentlemen," Joker crooned dramatically. "Welcome to the 'Make Lexie Boy Laugh Show'!"

Luthor glared.

"And now for my first act," the Gotham criminal continued. "I'd like to present my very own invention…."

_Oh no he's not!_ Luthor thought, staring in horror.

Joker tap danced a few steps closer to Luthor and whipped two balls out of his sleeve, both emblazoned with the Joker symbol.

_Oh shit he is!_

"Make us laugh Lexie!" Joker cackled. "I know you're just _dying_ to!" The clown threw the laughing gas at him.

"**PUCK!!"** Luthor roared. Shit, he had to pick _today_ not to carry his emergency gas mask with him! **"STOP THE GAS!!"**

There was a blur as the fae quickly moved in to protect Luthor and the spectators. The slender elf whipped himself rapidly around in a circle like a mini tornado.

"_Round and round the Puck doth go. Round and round the gas shall go. Where whence forced humor did run foul, now deadly laughter gone be thou!"_

The faerie came to a sudden stop. Luthor let out the breath he was holding and tentatively sniffed the air. It smelled strangely of clean earth and scented flowers.

"It's clean," Puck explained, eyeing the suspicious Lex.

"That's not fair!" Joker protested. "You interfered!" The clown pulled out a gun and pointed it at the faerie.

"Yeah, it's against the rules!" Harley added. Puck's eyes glistened mischievously as he floated closer to the pair of clowns, pulling on the chain that Luthor still grasped tightly in his hand.

"No it's not," Puck explained cheekily. "Luthor summoned me through the mirror; I have to do what he commands me to do."

Joker's face darkened as he glowered at the fae. Luthor smirked inwardly but kept his face impassive. Perhaps this would be somewhat entertaining after all.

"My turn!" Puck suddenly shouted. The fae looked over at Luthor and gave a bow as well.

"Can you let go of the chain?" the faerie asked. "I need some more room."

"Like hell I will!" Luthor shouted. The fae's eyes sparkled. _Shit…_

The room suddenly turned into a blazing inferno. Flames shot out of the wall and lava bubbled out of the floor.

"**PUCK!"** Luthor found himself roaring again. **"Turn it back!"**

The room returned to normal. Lex rubbed his forehead. He was beginning to get a migraine.

"Fine," Lex muttered. "But only if you promise not to leave this room without my permission."

"Agreed!" the fae promised. Luthor released the chain in his hand, hoping that he wasn't making a mistake. The fae winked out and reappeared several meters away to give Lex and Penguin a clearer view.

"The hell!" Luthor suddenly found himself shouting. With a smirk, Puck had shape shifted into the image of a one Amanda Waller. 'Amanda Waller' snapped her fingers and the strains of a sugary prepackaged pop song began to assault Lex's ears.

_I think I did it again  
I made you believe  
We're more than just friends.  
Oh baby  
It might seem like a crush  
But it doesn't mean  
That I'm serious.  
Cause to lose all my senses  
That is just so typically me  
Oh baby baby…_

He hated pop music.

However…

Luthor choked down a snort of laughter as 'Amanda Waller' began to dance to the music, 'her' great belly shaking in time to the music. A formidable behind shimmied down the lyrics of some female pop singer, whose name currently escaped Lex.

"Oops I did it again," 'Amanda Waller' sang. "I played with your heart, got lost in the game. Oh baby baby…"

Lex forced his face to remain impassive. However, it was proving to be exceedingly difficult as he watched the form of Amanda Waller dancing and shaking 'her' booty to the pop song.

He nearly lost it however when Puck began pole dancing from a bright pink pole that had sprouted magically from the floor. He didn't laugh however, of which he was proud of.

'Waller' swung 'herself' around the pole, gave Lex a 'seductive' wink, and continued to sing along to the lyrics.

He smirked.

"Hah! I saw that!" Puck yelled, still in the form of Amanda Waller.

"It was a smirk! I didn't laugh you long haired twit!" Luthor yelled back.

"Well foo, I'll just have to try harder next time," the faerie replied. He shape shifted back into his normal form and gestured to Joker.

"Your turn," Puck said. Joker muttered incoherently to himself and crossed his arms. _How the hell am I supposed to compete with THAT!?_

Not to be deterred however, the clown marched back out onto the 'stage'. He was determined to win this agreement.

"Alright," the Joker said out loud. "Here's a joke for you Lexie…Why did the chicken cross the road?"

Lex stared silently at him.

"Because he wanted to go out with a Bang!" Joker yelled, tossing a bomb into the air. Lex braced himself, but the bomb only exploded into a mess of bright ribbons and confetti.

Silence.

Well, except for Harley's obligatory 'Go Mr. J' commentary.

"Tough crowd," Joker muttered.

"Is that all you've got?" Lex asked, growing tired of the game.

"Pff…hardly!" the Gotham archcriminal exclaimed. "I'm full of surprises, why I…"

"Bah!" Lex finally yelled. "I wish I had something to throw at you!"

"Your wish is my command," Puck answered.

"What?" Luthor asked.

A crate of tomatoes and cream pies appeared next to Lex's chair. Luthor raised an eyebrow and looked at the floating faerie. Puck shrugged his shoulders.

"It seemed fitting," the faerie explained.

Lex's eyes glinted dangerously as he scooped up some 'ammunition' and flung it at the Joker.

"Mr. J!" Harley shouted. "Duck!"

"Whaaaaaat?" Puck asked suddenly, his blue eyes lighting up in mischief. "Did someone just say 'duck'?"

Lex covered his eyes as a flash of green lightning struck the Joker. The bald man blinked his eyes to clear them.

He stared.

"_Quack?"_

Lex snickered.

"_Quack quack…"_

"What'd you do to my Puddin!?" Harley wailed, clutching a Mallard duck in her hands. Its feathered head glistened green.

"What?" Puck asked innocently to the distraught young woman. "Oh…I thought you wanted me to turn him into a duck. My mistake."

The Joker gave another undignified quack.

Tears rolled down Lex Luthor's face as he laughed.

And laughed.

And laughed some more.

………….x…………

Ollie hummed to himself as he strolled into the Watchtower's main control room. The bigwigs had called another meeting and for some reason he was being included.

Green Arrow strongly suspected that Bruce just wanted another non-powered human there to keep him company…er, to help him keep the others in line.

Not that Bruce would ever admit it though.

Ollie paused when he saw that his ex-sidekick was grumbling to himself at one of the computer monitors.

"Something wrong?" Ollie asked.

"Question's late for his shift," Roy Harper complained, who was currently on monitor duty. "He's supposed to replace me."

"When?"

"Almost two hours ago," Speedy replied.

"Did you call him?" Green Arrow asked. The younger man scowled as he crossed his arms.

"I've tried several times. He won't answer."

"Probably found himself some cancer laced Girl Scout cookies to investigate," Oliver Queen answered. His ex-sidekick, partner, gave him an odd look.

"What?" Roy asked.

"He claims that Girl Scout cookies cause cancer."

"Calories and tooth decay maybe, but cancer? Come on!" Speedy griped. "What a kook."

"He's not so bad when you get to know him a little," Green Arrow protested, a little surprised that he was defending the Justice League's nut job. "He's just a little…odd sometimes."

"A little? _Sometimes_?" Roy asked in disbelief.

"Okay, maybe a little more than that," Ollie corrected. "But still…"

"But still what?" A new voice asked. Both men looked over to see that the Flash was leaning against Speedy's chair.

"Ollie's trying to defend our resident psycho," Roy said.

"Question?"

"Yep."

"Hey now," Ollie protested. "He may seem crazy, but Vic can be a sneaky little bastard when he wants to be."

……….x…………

"Oh well, it looks like I won," Puck said, shrugging his shoulders. Harley Quinn wiped away her tears long enough to pull out a machine gun and aim it at the faerie.

"No you didn't!" Harley argued. "Lex laughed at _Mr. J_._ He_ won!" Puck raised an eyebrow.

"But Luthor laughed because I turned him into a duck," Puck answered matter of factly.

"It was still Mr. J who made him laugh!" the young woman protested. She broke into tears again as she looked down at the duck at her feet.

Puck sighed. Logic had no room in this mortal's mind. Besides, he had an unfortunate soft spot for crying children.

"Alright," the Puck conceded. He really did hate to see kids cry. "We'll call it a draw and exchange information."

"You're too soft," Lex said suddenly. "You obviously won whatever bet you two had." The faerie gave him a quizzical look. Then he shrugged his shoulders and ignored the bald man. Puck landed and leaned in to whisper in Harley's ear.

"The true identity of one Justice League member, as promised," the fae whispered. Harley gave him an eager look and leaned in closer, her tears temporarily forgotten.

"Who?" she asked eagerly.

"The true identity of Hawkgirl…is Shayera Hol."

Harley stared at him, speechless. Every person and their dog knew who Shayera Hol was.

"You call that a secret!?" she yelled, throwing her fist at the faerie. The elven man smirked and dodged out of the way.

"Tsk tsk," Puck admonished, wagging his finger. "I said I'd reveal the true name of one Justice League member. I never said that it would be someone with a _secret _identity."

Harley Quinn opened her mouth, but no words came out. Joker the duck squawked angrily and rushed at the faerie, flapping his wings.

"That's not fair!" she finally yelled. "Mr. J has to tell you something that you don't know!"

"That's the terms we agreed to, Lass," the trickster answered. "He should have been more careful." As Harley continued to glare at him, the faerie pulled out a large clock from thin air and examined the time.

"Oh dear, we should be going," Puck said flippantly. "I'll be back later to collect my payment. Toodle-doo!"

Puck winked out and reappeared next to Luthor. The faerie touched the mortal and the two men disappeared in a puff.

"Waiiiiit!" Harley wailed. "He's still a duck!"

Meanwhile, the Penguin chuckled to himself. _Hmm_, he thought to himself. _To think that I saw this show for free!_

………………x…………….

"Are you pleased now?" Lex answered dryly. He and the faerie were now back inside Lex's study. Puck was floating next to Titania's Mirror.

"I'm just surprised that you didn't laugh at my Waller routine," the Puck answered honestly. Luthor smirked at that.

"Somehow I doubt that the _real_ Amanda Waller would be pole dancing to…what was it?"

"Oops I did it again' by Britney Spears."

"Ah…wait…just_ why_ does a faerie listen to pop music anyway?" Lex asked. The faerie grinned impishly at him.

"Would you have preferred Willie Nelson?" he asked cheekily.

"Hell no!"

"Exactly what kind of music do you listen to anyway, Luthor?" the faerie asked curiously. Lex looked over at him.

"I don't listen to anything," Luthor denied. Puck raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

There was a pause.

"I like the Who," Lex admitted reluctantly.

"The Who?" Puck questioned, enjoying this.

"And the Rolling Stones," Luthor added.

"Really?" the faerie asked with interest. Lex glared and jabbed a finger in the other man's direction.

"Not a word to anyone!" Luthor commanded.

"My lips are sealed!"

"Or a letter," he added.

"Darn…" the faerie muttered. Lex smirked dryly at the fae.

"Or an email," Luthor continued.

"You're catching on," Puck said with some admiration. He floated over to the tall mortal and studied him.

"Wait…" Lex wondered out loud. "Do faeries even _have_ email?" Puck whistled innocently in response. Luthor paused, until another thought occurred to him.

"And _no_ sign language!"

"But Puck doesn't know any sign language!" the faerie protested, waving his hands. This time Lex was the one to raise an eyebrow.

"Not any human ones anyway," Puck assented. Lex continued to stare at him.

"I might know the alphabet for American Sign Language," the faerie finally admitted.

"I thought so."

Lex ignored the faerie as he walked thoughtfully over to the ancient mirror. He touched the frame and peered thoughtfully into the magical object. Luthor now knew that he was going to have a hard time handling Puck. Therefore, he needed to focus the fae's energies on something more constructive than antagonizing the Legion of Doom.

"Puck," Luthor said thoughtfully. "How would you like to pay a visit to the Justice League?"

The bright smile on the faerie's face was all the answer Luthor needed.


	4. Faerie Games

_Disclaimer: I don't own JLU, Shakespeare's __A Midsummer Night's Dream__, or Disney's __Gargoyles__ (of which I've borrowed many ideas, especially from the episode 'The Mirror.)_

Original Prankster

**Chapter 4: Faerie Games**

"After you, ma'am."

"Yes, tis only right that such fair ladies go first."

A mortified Clark Kent blushed a deep shade of red as Vigilante and Shining Knight gallantly allowed she, Diana, and Shayera to step out of the airlift first. The Kryptonian tried to ignore the awkward glance that passed between Sir Justin and Greg Saunders.

He…she'd been getting that all day. It didn't help that some as of yet unknown person had told her parents. They had surprisingly taken it in stride, apparently used to strange things happening to their adopted son.

Clark strongly suspected that it was Wally who had blabbed. As Kara was now in the future, she couldn't very well blame her.

The Kryptonian silently followed the Amazon and the Thanagarian into Diana's quarters. Her blush deepened when Diana began to rummage through her underwear. Pulling out a bra, the Amazon princess nonchalantly threw it at the Kryptonian.

"You're pretty casual about this Diana," Shayera observed. While amused, the Thanagarian was still a little uncomfortable about the whole situation.

Diana shrugged

"My sisters and I shared clothing all the time," she replied. Shayera gaped at her.

"Even underwear!?" she yelled.

"What's wrong with that?" Diana asked, somewhat clueless. "What does it matter as long as they're clean?" Shayera slapped her forehead.

"Damn Amazons," she muttered.

...x...

Lex Luthor surveyed his strike team as they prepared to infiltrate the Justice League Watchtower. Not content to trust his fate solely to Puck, the criminal mastermind had decided to bring Tala, Parasite, Livewire, and the Shade along for backup.

"So tell us Luthor, is there actually a _plan_ involved in this?" the Shade asked, still somewhat skeptical of the whole venture.

"Who gives a rip?" Livewire asked. "This is gonna be fun!" The young woman then grinned up at the faerie who was floating next to her. The elven man gave her a curious look.

"You know Shorty," Livewire purred, "You're kinda cute."

"And you're kinda not," Puck replied flippantly.

The rest of the group broke into laughter. Livewire screamed in outrage and fired a bolt of electricity at the smirking faerie. Puck winked out and reappeared behind the woman, eyes lit up in mischief.

"Puck…" Lex warned. "We're about to go on a mission. As amusing as it would be, I can't afford to let you turn Livewire into a frog."

"But I was going to turn her into a hamster!" Puck protested. Livewire snarled at the faerie and prepared to launch another barrage of electricity.

"Ignore him," Lex ordered. "It's just his way."

The pale faced woman glowered darkly, but complied and lowered her hands. She glared at the faerie for a moment before her lips quirked up into a smirk.

"You've got spunk," she told the faerie. "I like that."

"And you look like a skunk."

"**YAARRGH!!"**

"Ignore him! Ignore him!"

Parasite grabbed Livewire from behind, preventing her from flying at Puck. Tala sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"Perhaps we should take someone else besides Livewire," she murmured to Lex. Lex, however, shook his head.

"No," he murmured back. "I want to cause as much chaos on the Watchtower as possible. Livewire will only contribute to it."

In fact, that was really Lex's only agenda. If he could, he'd try to hack into the League's database and steal some files while they were at it. However, his only real goal was to piss the League off and cause them trouble.

What other reason did he need? Lex personally was looking forward to setting the trickster faerie loose on the Watchtower. It would be an amusing change from Puck antagonizing his Legion.

"Are we ready?" the Shade asked. The group looked up at Puck. The faerie smiled and he floated down to stand next to Titania's Mirror. He bowed and pointed towards the ancient mirror, now glowing in magical light.

"After you," Puck smiled. His eyes twinkled with hidden laughter.

"Remember Puck; take us into an empty room. We don't want to be discovered right away," Lex said. The faerie gave him a mock salute.

"Don't worry Lexie, I've found the perfect place," the faerie promised. "It'll be the last place that they'd expect anyone to appear."

The Shade narrowed his eyes at the magical being. He held no trust for the creature, regardless of what Luthor claimed. The man didn't believe for one second that Lex held half as much control over the faerie that he claimed.

The mysterious smile on Puck's face wasn't helping either.

"Let's get this over with," the Shade sighed. He and the other villains stepped carefully through the faerie mirror into a dark, narrow space. The Shade was uncomfortably aware that six of them were crowded together in what suspiciously looked like a closet.

"Puck…where are we?" Tala asked carefully.

"Wonder Woman's closet," Puck answered cheerfully. There was a long, silent pause.

"What!?" Livewire yelled. Parasite clamped his hand over the woman's mouth, but it was too late. The doors of the closet ripped open to reveal three women staring in disbelief at the intruders. Wonder Woman's eyes widened into large blue spheres as Hawkgirl's mouth dropped open comically. A short haired woman dressed as Superman stared at them with a dumbfounded expression, holding a bra in her clenched hands.

"You said this was an empty room!" Shade yelled. The faerie grinned slyly at them.

"This _was_ an empty room," Puck replied innocently. "It's not my fault that the room next to it _wasn't_."

By this time, the three Leaguers had recovered from their shock long enough to hurl themselves into the closet. A storm of electricity blew them back out as the Legion members fought their way out of the small closet.

"Ow!" Parasite yelped, having tripped over a Greek shield. He felt his nose crack as his face smacked down against the floor. A box of clothing tumbled out of the closet and landed on his back, spilling women's clothing over the villain.

"PUCK!" Luthor roared.

"Luthor!" Superwoman yelled. The room came to a standstill as Lex and Superwoman locked eyes on each other. Luthor stared at the Kryptonian.

"Puck," Lex forced himself to be calm. "How exactly did you get rid of Superman?" he asked suspiciously. All eyes in the room looked up at the faerie. Puck had perched himself on top of Diana's dresser to watch the show.

"I destroyed him, just as you ordered," he answered.

"**By turning him into a woman!?" **

Puck cocked his head and smiled. Lex screamed in frustration. Superwoman stared up at the faerie while Diana snickered softly to herself.

"I don't know what the hell's going on," Shayera finally said. "But we're taking all of you down."

...x...

Helena Bertinelli didn't know whether to be worried or furious. Vic wasn't answering any of her calls, he wasn't at work, and he wasn't at the Watchtower. Green Arrow had called her asking where Vic was; apparently he'd never shown up for monitor duty.

She couldn't help thinking back to when her boyfriend had been kidnapped and tortured by Cadmus. The Huntress finally dialed a new number into her cell phone. If anyone knew where the illusive Charles Victor Szasz was hiding, it would be his mentor, Dr. Aristotle 'Tot' Rodor.

"_Hello?"_

"Tot! Where's Vic!" Helena demanded.

"_Why hello to you too,"_ Tot answered. _"You seem to have picked up your boyfriend's penchant for rude greetings."_

"I'm not calling for one of your lectures, professor," Helena said. "I can't find Vic anywhere and he isn't answering his phone. Do you know where he is?"

There was pause.

"You still there?" Helena asked impatiently. Tot's reply surprised her.

"_Do you believe in faeries?"_ Tot asked carefully.

"What?" she asked. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"_Ah…so he didn't tell you then. Shame on him."_

"Tell me what?" Helena asked angrily. "Is this another one of Q's crackpot conspiracy theories?"

"_Not quite,"_ the aging professor answered. She didn't miss the humor in his voice.

"Where is he?" she asked irately. Depending on Dr. Rodor's answer, Vic would either be strangled or hugged the next time she saw him.

"_Well…"_ Dr. Rodor began_. "There was this mirror. But first, let me tell you a little secret about Vic."_

...x...

The Puck watched in amusement as Wonder Woman's private quarters quickly turned into a war zone. However, Lex Luthor wasn't about to let the faerie get away with not helping.

"Puck!" Lex yelled, aiming his weapon at Wonder Woman. "You got us into this mess. GET US OUT!"

"Your wish is my command!" Puck bowed mockingly at Luthor before turning his eyes onto the nearest Leaguer. Shayera Hol took a step backward as the faerie's eyes glowed with magic.

"Watch it!" she yelled. "He's doing something!"

"Watch she says and watch she shall do," Puck sang. "Be still Shayera Hol and watch what the Puck shall do."

Green lightning struck the Thanagarian. Shayera's eyes widened as her body became paralyzed. Her face remained the only part of her body not frozen.

"Shayera!" Diana yelled. She turned to glare at the faerie.

"Turn her back," Diana warned. The faerie shrugged his shoulders apologetically.

"Puck can't," the faerie explained. "Lexie Boy summoned him through the mirror and now he has to do as the Bald One commands."

Diana clenched her fists. She blocked a bolt of electricity from Livewire with her bracelets. Stationing herself in front of her frozen friend, the Amazon glared at the faerie.

"If she gets killed, I'm still blaming you," Diana warned.

"She won't die," the faerie promised honestly. Puck winked out and reappeared next to the Amazon and whispered in her ear.

"The spell can be broken," he whispered. Diana blinked at him.

"How?" she asked. A bright smile appeared on the faerie's face.

"Why, it's simple," the Puck answered. "What did Batman do to break the spell Circe had put on you?"

Diana stared at him. Bruce had been forced to sing for Circe in order for the goddess to break the spell over her.

"You want me to sing 'Am I Blue'?" she asked.

"No," the Puck answered. "The one who has been jinxed is the one who must break the spell." With that, the faerie winked out and reappeared next to Luthor. The fae waved cheerfully. There was a loud pop and Luthor and his team disappeared.

Diana and Clark stared at the frozen Shayera.

"Who was that with Luthor?" Clark asked. Diana frowned.

"It was a faerie," she answered. The Amazon paused a moment in thought before continuing. "They called him Puck."

"Puck?" Clark asked. "The trickster?"

A loud cough interrupted their conversation. The two women looked over to see the frozen Thanagarian glaring at them.

"I'm still frozen," Shayera said irately.

"Puck said that 'the one who has been jinxed is the one who must break the spell,'" Diana said.

"Great, how do I do that?"

"Uh…I think you have to sing 'Am I Blue'," the Amazon answered.

...x...

Parasite blinked and looked around him. Other than the Shade, he was the only one in a secluded hallway.

"Where are we?" he asked. The Shade sighed and adjusted his hat.

"We're still on the Watchtower, I believe," the Shade answered.

"Great, but where? And where the hell is everyone else?"

...x...

Lex fumed silently as Tala tried to calm him. Unfortunately, they were surrounded by several Justice Leaguers.

Puck had dumped them off in the Watchtower cafeteria.

"It's Luthor!" Steel yelled.

Luthor swore loudly.

...x...

"Where the hell am I!?" Livewire screamed. She wrinkled her nose and covered her mouth. The woman looked around and gagged. Small mountains of trash covered the floor. She was surrounded by four metal walls.

"Gah! It stinks!"

Livewire growled to herself. The last thing she remembered was Puck pulling them out of Wonder Woman's quarters.

"This is a trash compactor," a now familiar voice answered. The woman whirled around to glare at a certain, smirking faerie.

"YOU!" she yelled, pointing an accusing finger at the faerie. Puck smiled innocently.

"Get out if you can," Puck taunted. The faerie winked out and disappeared.

Livewire screamed bloody murder.


	5. An Unfortunate Reunion

_Disclaimer: I don't own JLU, Shakespeare's __A Midsummer Night's Dream__, or Disney's __Gargoyles__ (of which I've borrowed many ideas, especially from the episode 'The Mirror.)_

Original Prankster

**Chapter 5: An Unfortunate Reunion**

Bruce Wayne was in the monitor room with Zatanna and Dr. Fate when the emergency calls began to come in from across the Watchtower. Luthor and Tala were in the cafeteria some said. The Shade and Parasite had been spotted on level two, section D another Leaguer had reported. Livewire's location was currently unknown.

What intrigued Bruce most, however, was the news that a faerie had been spotted with the Legion members.

"Puck," Dr. Fate murmured. "We should be cautious."

"Why is he helping Luthor?" Zatanna asked.

"I somehow doubt that dumping Luthor off in a room full of Leaguers was helping," Bruce said dryly. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment.

"According to Wonder Woman, Puck claimed that he was forced into becoming Luthor's servant through the power of the mirror," Bruce added.

"It could be true," Dr. Fate said. "It's impossible to know just what Titania's Mirror is capable of, but it's possible that with a powerful enough incantation, what Puck said could be correct."

"Or not," Zatanna added. "He is a trickster."

"Most tricks won't work unless they contain a cornel of truth," Batman observed. "Still, it's best to be cautious. We don't know what we're up against."

Dr. Fate closed his eyes in thought. It didn't take much concentration to sense the presence of faerie magic aboard the Watchtower. It was much wilder, perhaps even purer than the magic used by humans and demons. Since the fae were creatures composed of pure magic, Dr. Fate knew that it shouldn't come as any surprise.

"My wife is more knowledgeable on fae lore than I am," Dr. Fate admitted out loud. The other two looked at him.

"Maybe you'd better bring her here," Batman cautioned. Dr. Fate nodded once and disappeared in a flash of magic light.

"This is going to be one hell of day," Zatanna murmured.

"Speaking of that," Bruce said. "There's been a report of an explosion from a trash compactor on the next level."

"Eww…" Zatanna gagged.

……………………………………………………………………….

"Oh gross!" the Flash gagged. Trash was spewn all over the surrounding floor, ceiling, and walls. The speedster pinched his nose, but he still couldn't block out the stench.

"It looks like the blast came from inside the compactor," Elongated Man mused. Ralph Dibney braved the smell to peer inside the room. The metal surrounding the gaping hole had been melted.

"I guess we know where Livewire was," Ralph said.

"Why was she inside it in the first place?" Wally asked.

Ralph started to shrug his shoulders, but before he could finish, he found that Wally had grabbed him and zipped halfway down the corridor.

The Flash pointed to where they had been standing.

"Oh…I guess we can ask her," Elongated Man said.

A very angry, trash covered Livewire was standing down the hall. Electrical currents were coursing through her body and periodically zapping the hallway.

"That's what I'd call one pissed off lady," Wally observed. Ralph winced as the women shrieked loudly in rage.

"FAERIE! YOU'RE DEAD, DO YOU HEAR ME FAERIE!?"

"Yep, definitely one pissed off lady," the Flash repeated sagely.

………………………………………………………………………

Puck silently watched as Lex Luthor and Tala fended off attacks from the Justice League.

Wildcat was currently down, as was B'wana Beast. Steel and Fire were currently attacking from the left while Vixen and Crimson Avenger circled to the right.

"Boring," Puck muttered. He winked out and reappeared next to a surprised Luthor.

"Need any help?" the faerie asked cheerfully. His only response was a hiss and a deadly glare from Luthor. Lex ducked behind a table, swung around, and grabbed the faerie by the metal chain encircling his body.

"You…" Luthor hissed. He pointed his weapon at the faerie.

"What? I came back to help, didn't I?" Puck asked nonchalantly.

"Every time you 'help' me, I end up in even more trouble," Luthor fumed. The faerie shrugged his shoulders, ignoring the gun pressing into his chest.

"Well then, you should word your wishes more carefully then, shouldn't you?" Puck asked. Luthor stared at him, face red with rage.

"You should have known that when summoning me," Puck pointed out. "I am a trickster you know." Lex appeared to calm down at that.

"I think that's the first honest thing you've told me," Lex Luthor noted.

"Don't flatter yourself, I'm always honest. It's just that honesty is more flexible than most of you mortals realize."

Despite the situation he was in, Lex Luthor smirked. As much as he was loath to admit it, the faerie did actually have a point.

"Well then," Lex said, choosing his words carefully. "I'd like you to take us out of this room and put us into another room on the Watchtower, empty of people, next to another room also devoid of people."

Puck cocked his head, reminding Lex faintly of a bird.

"You're learning," the faerie observed. "Very well then."

With a pop, Lex found himself and Tala deposited in a quiet section of the Watchtower. The man walked silently around the room, making certain that they indeed hadn't been tricked by the Puck.

"So…" the faerie said cheerfully. "What're my orders?"

"Cause havoc…be _you_," Lex said. "Just don't cause any trouble for my team." There was a pause. "Or me."

"Not even Livewire?" the faerie pouted. Lex blinked.

"Well…I suppose," Luthor assented. "But only a little! Also, if she or any of us are in danger of being injured or captured by the League, you are to rescue us. When I feel that we've done enough damage, I'll command you to extract us and return us to base. Understood?"

The faerie nodded and gave him a salute. With a pop of magic, the magical being disappeared from the room.

"Be careful," Lex quietly told Tala. "Knowing him, he'll still look for a way to trick us."

Tala nodded in agreement.

………………………………………….

"No no, that's not how the lyrics go," Diana said.

"What?" Shayera snapped.

"It's 'It was a morning, long before dawn; Without a warning I found he was gone, not 'It was a morning, long _after_ dawn…"

"Well excuse me!" The Thanagarian shouted.

"You've got to sing it exactly; otherwise you won't break the spell!"

"It's not my fault I don't know how the song goes!"

"I swear, don't you know the lyrics by now?" Diana asked, exasperated. "Everyone's been annoying Bruce with it ever since he sang it."

"I only know the chorus, not the whole song," Shayera muttered. "Can't you write down the lyrics or something?"

Diana sighed as she went off in search of a pen and paper. The Amazon princess quickly scribbled down the lyrics and brought them back to hold up for her friend.

Shayera squinted her eyes at them. There was a short pause.

"I can't read it, can't you write it neater?" she asked. Diana crumpled up the paper and threw it at her friend and stalked off to rewrite them.

"Hey! Don't get so huffy about it!" Shayera yelled. "It's not my fault that I couldn't read it! I have to sing it _exactly_, remember?"

……………………………………….

The Puck's next victims, incidentally, involved Wally West, Ralph Dibney, and John Stewart.

Livewire was of course another target.

"You!" the woman shouted, shooting a blast of electricity at the faerie. Puck merely let his body turn intangible, allowing the energy to phase through him and strike harmlessly at the wall.

"So that's him, huh?" John Stewart asked. The Green Lantern had joined the Flash and Elongated Man in their battle against Livewire.

"Him? Him who?" Puck asked innocently.

"What're you doing here!?" Livewire shouted.

"Being me," the Puck answered enigmatically. The woman flew at him, but the faerie winked out and reappeared behind her.

"Tsk tsk, such manners," Puck admonished. "You should really respect your elders."

"You…!" she yelled. A flash of green lightning struck the woman, turning her into a child. A simple pink diaper hung from the now small and chubby Livewire.

"Aww…." Flash laughed. Puck's eyes twinkled.

"The Flash approves," the faerie murmured out loud, smiling at the speedster.

"Oh no…" Green Lantern moaned. "Flash you dummy…"

"What?" the Flash asked. "I'm faster than…" A flash of magic reduced him to a child of comparable age with Livewire. A bright red diaper hung from the small child's hips. A small, red Flash mask still covered his face.

John smacked his face and shook his head.

"Rookie mistake," he muttered. "You should know better Wally."

"Rookie?" Puck asked cheerfully, "You can join them too!"

"No no!" John yelled, using his power ring to throw up a shield. Unfortunately, the faerie somehow teleported behind him and zapped him with a flash of magic.

"Not again…" John moaned, having also been reduced to a child. Only this time, he appeared to be younger than eight years old. Looking down, the former Marine saw that he was wearing a green diaper.

"Shit," John swore in a high pitched voice.

"Such a potty mouth," Puck smirked.

"Hey," Ralph said, still unaffected by any magic. "How come they remember what their real bodies were like? Superman didn't remember!"

"Well, what's the fun in that?" the faerie asked.

"Bastard!" Livewire shouted, shaking a chubby hand at the faerie. She attempted to blast him with electricity, but only a harmless trickle shot out.

"Well…I gotta get going!" the Puck said cheerfully. "So much trouble to cause and so little time!"

The faerie disappeared with a wink, leaving the others to stare at the open space.

"So…um…" Ralph stuttered, "Did I really get away with nothing?"

Wally West tottled over to the tall man and peered thoughtfully at him.

"Nope dude, he definitely got you," the Flash said. Ralph Dibney groaned.

"What did he do?" he asked.

"You've got a monkey's tail sticking out of your butt," the Flash answered.

…………………………………………………….

"Okay, try it again," Diana sighed. She held up the lyrics for Shayera to see. The Amazon winced as the Thanagarian once again began to sing in an off key voice.

"It was a morning, long before dawn; Without a warning I found he was gone. How could he do it, Why should he do it; He'd never done it before," Shayera sang. Diana sighed. When Bruce had sang it, it had been beautiful.

With Shayera singing it, it sounded like the horrid singing of a retarded drunk. Of course, considering that the woman liked to hang out at questionable alien bars, it shouldn't come as a surprise.

"Am I blue? Am I blue?" the red haired woman continued to sing. Diana clamped her mouth shut. If she insulted the other woman's singing again, Shayera would have to start all over from the beginning, prolonging the torture.

Shayera had better be damn glad that she was a good friend. Very few people could stay silent through the kind of torture that Diana was forcing on herself.

Diana cringed as her friend hit another wrong note.

…………………………………………………………..

"So…you've heard of this Puck before?" Vigilante asked. The cowboy looked over at his overly polite friend.

"Yes," Shining Knight answered. "Merlin was half-fae by birth, so it is only natural that many of thee fae were known to him."

"Have you ever met Puck?" Greg Saunders asked. His friend's face stiffened, which the cowboy took as a definite yes.

"He…played many a trick upon thee round table," Sir Justin reluctantly admitted. "Once when I accompanied Lord Arthur on a visit to thee Lady of the Lake, thee faerie decided to use his magic to throw thee king from thee boat and turned him into a fish."

Vigilante gaped at his friend.

"What happened next?" he asked. Sir Justin sighed.

"Luckily for mine king, Merlin came yonder and returned him to his human form. Thee Puck merely protested, claiming that he had been assisting thee king in his quest to speak with thee Lady."

"Did Merlin buy it?"

"No," Shining Knight answered.

"What else did he do?" Vigilante asked. His friend's face reddened slightly.

"Uh…you can tell me later," the cowboy said. The knight was obviously still embarrassed over whatever the faerie had done all those centuries ago.

"Let's just hope we don't run into him," Greg said instead.

"Let's hope you don't run into whom?" A new voice asked curiously. The cowboy cringed and forced himself to turn around. At his side, Sir Justin had frozen in place, his eyes wide in horror.

"Puck," Sir Justin stated, hiding an unchivalrous groan.

A silver haired, elven man grinned cheerfully at the cowboy and the knight. Vigilante silently cursed his luck.

"Long time no see, huh Justin?" Puck asked.

This time Sir Justin let out a soft groan.


	6. Faerie Dancing

_Disclaimer: I don't own JLU, Shakespeare's __A Midsummer Night's Dream__, or Disney's __Gargoyles__ (of which I've borrowed many ideas, especially from the episode 'The Mirror.)_

Original Prankster

**Chapter 6: Faerie Dancing**

Captain Atom's first inclination that all was not right in the world had been when Superman had been magically changed into a woman. His second inclination had been when the Justice League began to be flooded with reports of Injustice League members running amuck on the Watchtower.

He was now staring at his third inclination.

"You have a staring problem Nate?" John Stewart asked crossly. A small child roughly two or three years old cross his arms and attempted to glare up at the superhero. A green diaper hung at his hips.

Captain Nathaniel Adams blinked his eyes and tried not to stare quite so openly. He succeeded…mostly.

"Erm…so what happened again?" he asked slowly, a soft Texas drawl evident in his confusion.

"We got Puck'd," Wally West answered.

"Puck'd?" Nathaniel Adams asked. He swiveled his eyes over the group, pausing a moment on an agitated Elongated Man and the monkey tail now swishing behind him. Captain Atom turned his eyes over to the sole female in the group.

"Uh…" he trailed off, "Who…?"

"Livewire," Wally answered.

"Livewire?" Captain Atom asked.

"Livewire," the small speedster repeated.

As the superhero sighed, the tiny Livewire plotted ways to inflict death upon a certain faerie.

All of which would ultimately fail.

………………………………………………………………………….

Sir Justin was not a happy knight. In fact, he was seriously questioning his decision to get out of bed that morning and was debating on whether or not chivalry was really all that it was cracked up to be.

"Justin Justin Justin…how long has it been?" Puck asked cheerfully.

_Not long enough_, Sir Justin thought. However, being the model of knightly virtue, he didn't voice it.

"Oh dear, are we still upset about the dancing incident?" the faerie asked with mock sympathy. This time, the knight was unable to stop the groan that escaped his mouth.

"Dancing incident?" Vigilante asked, looking at his friend.

"Oh I'm sorry," the faerie continued. "Perhaps it was the goat incident?"

"Goat?" the cowboy asked. Justin felt his face heating up.

"He turned me into a goat," he muttered, face hot.

"That's not all," Puck added cheerfully. "I seem to recall that several shepherd girls _delighted_ in dressing you up in bows and bells…oh…and those _lovely_ crowns of wildflowers!"

"Whatever deviltry yee are up to Sir Faerie, it will not work," Sir Justin said boldly, trying to hide the unease churning in his stomach. The faerie cocked his head and peered curiously at the knight, apparently picking up on his unease.

"I never one hurt any of you," Puck noted with sudden seriousness.

"Except their pride?" Vigilante asked. The faerie grinned brightly and the cowboy found himself torn between chuckling at the Round Table being defeated by a single playful faerie, or at sympathizing with his best friend's embarrassment.

Greg Saunders decided that he'd laugh about it later.

"What are yee doing here?" Shining Knight asked carefully. The faerie made a show of rubbing his chin in thought, his eyes sparkling with barely hidden humor.

"Lexie Boy forced Puck through Queen Titania's Mirror," the Puck explained again. "Now he has to do what the Bald One wants."

"And what does Luthor want?" Vigilante asked. The Puck's eyes lit up in mischief, but the cowboy detected a hint of dark anger beneath the faerie's cunning eyes.

"What does Luthor want indeed?" the faerie questioned. "What Luthor requested, Luthor shall get. The Puck will answer, be it foul or clean. What the Bald One _really_ wants, Puck will be _sure_ he receives!" Vigilante found himself suddenly aware of an unpleasant feeling in his stomach.

"You don't like Luthor," Vigilante stated.

"Nonsense," the faerie quipped. "He has many admirable qualities, all of which are his downfall. Lexie Boy is ever so much _fun_ to play with!"

"Qualities such as what?" Shining Knight asked. However, the faerie ignored the question. Instead, Puck pulled out a small, thin flute from within his purple tunic and held it up to his lips. The knight froze as he recognized the object.

"Oh no," he groaned. Vigilante shot his friend a sharp look.

"What?" Greg Saunders asked warily.

"The flute," Sir Justin answered weakly. "Anything but the flute."

………………………………………………………

An elderly man looked up from the newspaper he was reading. Magical forces were at work and they were clearly the product of a faerie at play.

"Puck," the man murmured. He chuckled and turned the page of the newspaper.

The man known to countless generations as Merlin skimmed his eyes over the contents of the _Gotham Tribune_. Whatever mischief Puck was up to this time, the sorcerer as of yet didn't feel the need to step in. He knew that whatever the mortals thought of the fae's antics, the Puck had his own personal limits that he refused to cross over.

Unless, of course, he had been wronged in someway by a certain mortal. That was Lex Luthor's mistake, the sorcerer noted. He had no idea that the Question, Charles Victor Szasz, was really the Puck in human disguise.

Puck hadn't revealed himself during his beating from Luthor, Merlin knew, because he hadn't wanted to reveal his true identity. Once Cadmus had gotten a hold of the trickster, the faerie definitely couldn't risk it. From what Merlin understood through his previous encounter with Puck, Cadmus had a great deal of interest in capturing a fae. They kept tools of iron on hand in the likelihood they ever encountered a member of the third race.

Merlin picked up his cup of tea and took a sip, savoring the taste of Earl Grey. Oberon had forbidden the fae from interfering in human affairs, but mischief makers like Puck and Loki routinely found ways to bend the rules. Even Oberon was known to break his own laws.

And Titania, well, she could care less about what her husband had to say. The Queen always did as she saw fit, whether or not Oberon liked it.

The sorcerer stood up with a sigh. Speaking of Loki, currently he and Coyote were causing a ruckus down in south Peru. The sorcerer might soon have to take it upon himself to go down and chastise the would be pranksters.

Merlin wondered wryly if that was his curse for being half fae and half human. It was somewhat troublesome at times to be the responsible one, a position that probably came from his human side.

Or not. Arthur Pendragon had been quite the hellion when he chose to be. And as much as Merlin denied it, he could be just as cunning and twice as mischievous as any full blooded faerie.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Vigilante cursed loudly as he and Shining Knight were forced to dance along to the music coming from Puck's flute. The faerie was currently playing some kind of jig. The faster the music played, the more quickly the cowboy found his feet moving along.

"Dang nabbit!" the cowboy swore. Puck's eyes glowed with magic as his long, nimble fingers flew over the flute. His thin eyebrows arched in humor as a smirk played at his lips.

"Is this what he meant by the 'dancing incident'?" the cowboy asked. His friend's face was growing redder by the minute. Sir Justin's armor clanged as the knight was forced to dance along to the faerie's song.

"Yes," Justin admitted. "Puck once cornered Sir Cador, Sir Lionel, and I in thee gardens outside of Camelot. He forced us to dance throughout thee city as he played."

The music sped up at that and Vigilante loudly voiced a few more curses.

"Hey, what's going on here!?" a woman's voice suddenly shouted.

"Run Vixen!" Vigilante shouted. His warning came too late however, as Vixen found herself hopping along to the faerie jig.

The three superheroes were forced to dance several more minutes until the faerie suddenly stopped and put his flute away. Vigilante, Shining Knight, and Vixen panted from the physical exertion as they warily eyed the faerie.

"Why'd you stop?" Vixen dared to ask.

"I got bored," the faerie answered. He winked out and reappeared behind the three Leaguers.

"That music is so old anyway," Puck explained, shrugging his shoulders. "How about something else?"

"What?" Vigilante asked. Puck smiled craftily as he winked out again and disappeared. His voice echoed across the Watchtower as the three Leaguers looked around for the now invisible fae.

"_Watchtower stop and listen to the story I tell. Shining Knight the music hater, my music he hath decried as fell. Listen carefully to the tale I tell, music words you should respond to well!"_

"Oh hell…" Vixen swore. The sugary beat of pop music began to play out of no where. The three Leaguers soon found themselves dancing along to the new music.

"_Ladies up in here tonight  
No fighting, no fighting  
We got the refugees up in here  
No fighting, no fighting."_

"Anything but Shakira!" Mari shouted.

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

"God damn it all!" Wildcat swore. He and all of the other Leaguers in the cafeteria moved their hips along to the Shakira song, nearly all of them shouting out their dismay.

"_I never really knew that she could dance like this  
She makes a man want to speak Spanish,  
Como se llama, bonita, mi casa, su casa  
Shakira, Shakira."_

"Hey, nice dancing Wildcat!" Oliver Queen shouted. The archer swung around in time to the music, his hands raised over his head.

"Go to hell Arrow, your dancing sucks too!" the older man shouted back.

"Don't blame me, blame Puck!" Green Arrow protested. "He's the one making me do it!"

Wildcat fumed as his feet continued to step in time to the music. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that a furious Parasite was also swaying along to the music.

"Puck got the Legion too," Ted Grant noted. He could hear the villain's swearing from across the room.

"Really?" Ollie asked. "I'd love to see Luthor dancing to this. I'll bet he's pissed."

"Luthor, what about Batman?" Wildcat asked. Oliver Queen burst out laughing, despite the situation. The sound of faint laughter also magically reverberated through out the Watchtower.

………………………………………….

Bruce Wayne had a headache. He was not a man prone to deep violence despite opinions to the contrary, but at the moment was he contemplating the murder of a certain faerie.

"Can you stop him?" he asked through gritted teeth. Zatanna scowled as her hips swung suggestively to the pop music.

"No," she admitted. "His magic is greater than mine. I don't know if it's that way naturally or if it's due to the amplification in power that he's receiving from Titania's Mirror."

"We need to find that Mirror," Bruce said. "Diana said that Puck took the mirror with him when he rescued Luthor's team from her bedroom."

"Good idea…" Zatanna said. "How about finding a way to stop the music first?"

"Well," a new voice said cheerfully, "You could always ask nicely."

Bruce Wayne's scowl deepened. Not only had the faerie appeared, but he had found it necessary to stand on his head.

"You need a sense of humor Brucie," Puck observed. "You're too tense."

"I like my sense of humor the way it is," Batman growled. The faerie grinned slyly, his face lighting up in mischief.

"My my…you're certainly the stubborn ass, aren't you?" the faerie asked. "Very well then...let what lies in the heart shall appear upon the face!"

Bruce felt his head tingle as the faerie leapt off. He barely noted that the music had stopped playing. His mask stretched and snapped as his head grew larger.

Zatanna stared at him. Bruce cringed inwardly as the faerie laughed merrily from his vantage point in the air.

"Bye bye Brucie, I'll be back later!" the faerie promised. He winked out and disappeared.

There was a stunned silence in the Watchtower monitor room.

"What did he do to me?" Batman demanded, his voice sounding oddly like a donkey's braying. The silence deepened as no one was brave enough to answer.

…………………………………..

"What are you doing? You should be looking for Puck," Orion warned. Booster Gold and Blue Beetle looked at each other and back at the larger man.

"For your information, we are currently working on a plan to trap Puck," Booster Gold answered. Blue Beetle nodded his head in agreement.

"You two, a plan?" Orion scoffed. "If you two don't get moving, I'll be the least of your worries. Batman…"

"That ass?" Booster asked. "I'm not scared of him!"

Orion bent forward and glared dangerously at the duo. Booster Gold and Blue Beetle gulped, but held their ground.

"You dare to insult one of the founding members?" Orion asked dangerously. "You…uh…" The New God trailed off as the man in question angrily exited a nearby elevator shaft and strode darkly past them in the corridor.

Booster Gold smirked. Orion stared.

A donkey's head was sticking out of where Batman's head should have been.

"Uh…" Orion stuttered.

"It appears that Booster was correct in his assumption that Batman is indeed an ass," Skeets observed wisely. The small robot hovered over Booster Gold's left shoulder.

A dumbfounded Orion stared at the trio and then after the irate Batman. The New God shook his head suddenly and turned back to the other Leaguers.

"Uh…carry on," Orion stammered. He turned around and left quickly.

As soon as Booster Gold and Blue Beetle were reasonably sure that both Orion and Batman were out of hearing distance, they burst into uncontrollable laughter.


	7. The Faerie Trap

_Disclaimer: I don't own JLU, Shakespeare's __A Midsummer Night's Dream__, or Disney's __Gargoyles__ (of which I've borrowed many ideas, especially from the episode 'The Mirror.)_

Original Prankster

**Chapter 7: The Faerie Trap**

Bruce Wayne seethed as he stared at his reflection in his bathroom mirror. A donkey's face stared back at him.

Batman, who was quite familiar with _A Midsummer Night's Dream_, understood the reference. However, understanding that Puck had cast him in the role of a fool did not make the situation any easier. If anything, it infuriated Bruce even more.

The irate millionaire had made his way straight to his private quarters, too humiliated and angry at the moment to face the other Leaguers.

"Well well…looks like someone can't take a joke."

Bruce felt his body stiffen as he immediately recognized the voice. He swung around to glare at the woman now reclining on an armchair.

"Circe," Bruce growled. The goddess smirked as she studied the vigilante.

"That's a new look for you," Circe said coyly. "I think it suits you."

"What do you have to do with this?" Bruce demanded.

"Me? Nothing at all," she answered honestly. "I just couldn't help noticing that there was a large concentration of fae magic up here and I decided to investigate. I guess Puck got bored with playing the outcast."

"Outcast?" Bruce asked suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing, nothing," the goddess answered with a smile. "Carry on with what you were doing. I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the show."

Circe shimmered and vanished, leaving only an empty chair behind. Batman stared at it a moment. Deciding that brooding to himself was accomplishing nothing at all, the vigilante strode back out of his quarters.

…………………………………………………………………………

"Any word on Puck yet?" Shayera asked.

"No Ma'am," Captain Atom answered. "Other than turning the third level into a swamp, no one has reported seeing him yet."

"What about Luthor and the others?"

"Livewire is currently in League custody, but the others are still at large," the captain continued.

Shayera sighed and muttered a Thanagarian curse. In the corner of the room, Zatanna was attempting to reverse the spell on John, Wally, and Ralph.

"Hey John," she heard the speedster say. "Do you think we're potty trained?"

"WHAT THE HELL KIND OF QUESTION IS THAT!?" the miniature Green Lantern roared.

"Just curious, we are wearing diapers you know," the Flash pointed out.

Shayera groaned and covered her eyes, having a sneaking suspicion on where the conversation was heading.

"I don't want to know!" John Stewart yelled; his baby voice shrill in irritation. The Thanagarian snorted, but suppressed a snicker.

"So let's say that we're not," Wally continued, ignoring his friend. A large smirk brightened up his slightly chubby face. "Who would wipe our butts?"

The whole control room let out a collective groan. Shayera chuckled silently to herself.

"You're wiping your own butt Flash!" Mr. Terrific shouted. The rest of the room echoed him. Zatanna merely reached down and pinched the two-year old Wally West in the arm, causing him to yelp.

"Child abuse!" Wally wailed.

…………………………………………

Puck yawned as he watched the Leaguers running to and fro. The fae sat perched on Titania's Mirror, invisible to everyone around him.

He gave another yawn, partially from boredom and partially from exhaustion. Being a troublemaker was hard work.

The faerie fidgeted slightly, still restless. It didn't take him long to realize what was missing.

Helena Bertinelli.

Puck sighed. He supposed that he should have followed Tot's advice and told the Huntress that the Question wasn't who she thought he was. The fae would often find himself on the verge of telling the mortal woman the truth, only to retract and launch into some wild conspiracy theory.

The Huntress was in love with the Vic Sage and his alter ego, the Question. Could she accept him as Puck?

The faerie brooded silently for a few minutes. As much fun as it was to antagonize the League, it would be much more enjoyable if Helena were there to laugh along with him.

Unfortunately, the spell that tied him to Luthor prevented the faerie from straying too far away without permission. It irritated the fae, as he had half a mind to retrieve the Huntress and bring her up to the station.

Puck gave a shake of his head and hopped to his feet. He had no desire to dwell on something he couldn't fix at the moment. Besides, there was still so much chaos to cause. He resolved yet again to tell Helena Bertinelli the truth the next time he saw her.

Unfortunately, he had no idea yet that Dr. Aristotle Rodor, the Question's 'mentor', had already revealed it to her.

……………………………………………………………………

"So…uh…what's all this?" Black Canary asked.

"This?" Booster Gold asked indignantly. "Why…this is the Puck Trap 3000!"

"Er…huh?" she asked.

Dinah Lance stared at the diagram that was spread out on the floor between Booster Gold and Blue Beetle. Skeets hovered helpfully in the air between the two men.

"The Puck Trap," Blue Beetle continued. "Is our ingenious invention. It's designed to capture and hold faeries."

"Okay okay, I get that," Canary said. "How does it…wait…how do _you_ _two_ know how to capture faeries?"

"We had Skeets scan the internet to see what came up," Booster replied.

"Wait…the internet!?" she asked.

"The internet is serious business," Beetle said solemnly. Dinah rubbed the sides of her head, feeling the beginning signs of a migraine.

"Many of the old legends and myths about faeries have been uploaded online," Skeets said helpfully. "As well as many first hand accounts of people who have seen…"

"This sounds like something the Question would do," Dinah muttered.

"And according to everything my pal Skeets dug up," Booster Gold continued. "Faeries have a few weaknesses…"

"…which are iron and rowan," Beetle finished.

Dinah raised an eyebrow and stared at them. Zatanna had mentioned something about that. An idea was forming in the back of her mind, but as of yet she couldn't grasp it.

"So how does that help your plan?" she asked instead.

"Well, according to Skeets…" Booster said.

"The internet," Skeets corrected.

"According to the internet, faeries also love honey and milk."

"So…this would explain why there is a giant jug of milk and a bottle of honey between you two," Dinah sighed. The two men looked down at the items they had swiped from the kitchens.

"Yep," Michael Carter said proudly. "The Puck Trap 3000 is going to work like a charm. Just think of the marketing potential!"

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch," Black Canary warned. "You two still haven't told me how it's going to work."

"We've put a few tiny transmitters into the honey and milk," Ted Kord explained. The Blue Beetle indicated the items in question. "Once Puck swallows a transmitter, we're going to use the transporters to beam him into an iron box, so he can't escape."

"We're gonna be famous," Booster smirked, currently off in his own fantasy world.

"Wow, this is actually a semi-intelligent idea for you two," Dinah admitted. "One question, isn't going to be obvious to him that it's a trap?"

"He's a trickster," Ted Kord pointed out. "Even if he figures it out, he probably won't be able to resist trying to outsmart the trap."

Dinah had to admit that the Blue Beetle had made a relevant point.

"Oookay…how about this iron box?" she asked. Booster Gold and Blue Beetle gave each other sheepish looks.

"Well…uh…we're currently working on that," Booster admitted. "We've been trying to call Zatanna and see if she'd conjure up one, but for some reason she doesn't want to talk to us."

"Haven't you been trying to hit on her recently?" Dinah asked dryly.

"Yeah, can't imagine why she wouldn't want to talk to him," Beetle smirked. "The problem is that she won't talk to me either."

"You've been helping him," Dinah pointed out. "You cut the power to the turbolifts just so he and Zatanna would be trapped in one together."

"It's what best friends are for," Blue Beetle stated firmly. Dinah sighed.

"Fine," she said. "I'll talk to Zatanna. I'll get you two that damned box."

Unbeknownst to them, an invisible Circe listened with great amusement.

…………………………………………………………………

Lex Luthor walked calmly down the hallway with Tala. Dr. Light and Crimson Fox passed them without giving them a second glance. Luthor smirked to himself. Tala had used her magic to change their appearances.

At the moment, they both appeared to be nothing more than a pair of Watchtower technicians. Lex now appeared to be a man of Native American descent while Tala appeared to be a plain looking woman with brunette hair and glasses.

The two Legion members continued to walk down the corridor until they turned and entered what appeared to be a mechanical room. Tala and Lex looked at each other before walking nonchalantly in.

"Who are you two?" A red haired man asked suspiciously. "I've never seen you two before."

"New recruits," Luthor lied.

"Where's your ID?" the other man asked. Lex smirked and punched him.

"Right here," he said dryly. He calmly sat at one of the consoles as Tala subdued the other technicians with her magic.

Lex studied the equipment in the room with a smirk. Apparently this room monitored oxygen levels on the station. His smirk widening, typed a few commands into the console to shut down the oxygen in the left wing of the station.

His grin widened. Lex watched the console with a smirk. His elation began to fade quickly as it became apparent that nothing was happening.

Lex cursed and tapped a few more commands into the console. Again, nothing happened.

"What the hell is this?" he muttered.

…………………………………..

Puck smiled to himself as he watched Luthor tapping away on an empty crate. He and Tala were currently in an empty storage closet, cleared out in anticipation of the League's move to the Metrotower on Earth.

Upon discovering the disguised Luthor and Tala, the faerie had trapped them in an illusion. He didn't expect it to last long, since they would no doubt figure it out. However, it served its purpose of keeping them momentarily from causing trouble.

Puck couldn't lead the League to them yet, as Luthor had ordered him to rescue any of the Legion members in danger of injury or capture.

Well, except for Livewire. He conveniently ignored her. After all, children needed a babysitter; therefore the Puck didn't categorize it as 'capture.'

"Who haven't I gotten yet?" the faerie asked himself. After a moment, he snapped his fingers.

"Ollie!"

………………………………………………….

Dr. Fate and Inza stared around at the chaos that had descended upon the Justice League Watchtower.

"I see that Puck has been busy in my absence," Dr. Fate observed dryly.

"That's the understatement of the year," Clark muttered.

"Come on Supes, I think you make a nice woman," Wally said cheerfully. The toddler sized speedster grinned up at the female Kryptonian.

"Shut up Wally," Clark sighed. "Or I'll spank you." The Flash gulped, taking the hint.

"Has anyone been hurt?" Dr. Fate asked.

"No, thankfully," Clark said, somewhat surprised now that she thought about it.

"That's not surprising," Inza said. All eyes turned to Dr. Fate's wife.

"From what I understand," she continued, "Most fae aren't malevolent by nature. If they are wronged, then they can be very vicious in their revenge. However, to tricksters like Puck, all of this has merely been a game."

"A game!?" Clark asked.

"It would make sense," Diana added, silent up this point. "My mother once told me that fae can be very playful creatures."

"But…"

"No one has been injured," Diana pointed out. "…despite the fact that there are also five Legion members here. Also, Bruce said that Puck knew his name."

"He knows our identities?" Clark asked. Diana shrugged.

"Apparently, yet despite that, he doesn't seem to have revealed them to Luthor."

"It could just be luck," Clark pointed out.

"Hmm…possibly not," Dr. Fate said. The wizard pointed at Wally. "Despite changing Flash and Green Lantern into children, he kept Flash's mask on."

"They're children now though, what does it matter?" Clark argued. "John's real identity is public knowledge and even if Wally didn't have his mask on now, it'd be impossible to tell his real identity."

"Regardless, we need to find Titania's Mirror," Inza interrupted. "Being a faerie object, forged by the Greek God Hephaestus no less, it is capable of great power. I don't believe that Puck has yet used it to its full potential."

"Can Luthor use it to control Puck?" Diana asked. "He told me that because Luthor summoned him through the mirror, Puck has to do what he commands."

"I believe it is more than possible," Inza replied. "Although it seems as though he as been rather…creative…in the ways he has chosen to grant Luthor's wishes."

"Luthor did say that he had ordered Puck to kill me," Superwoman admitted. "Apparently Puck had decided to interpret that as meaning Super_man_ should be destroyed."

"So he turned you into a woman," Diana said, coming to the faerie's defense. "Puck could have killed you, but he didn't. I'm sure he knew full well what Luthor wanted."

Clark was silent for several minutes. After awhile, a thought occurred to him.

"Do you suppose we should have J'onn come up here?"

…………………………………………………………………..

An invisible Puck hummed to himself as he flew through the Watchtower. Oliver Queen was currently down by the shuttle bays. The faerie pondered on how exactly he would jinx the archer.

_Hmm, what's this?_

The faerie watched curiously as Booster Gold walked by, a jug of milk and a large bottle of honey clutched in his hands.

_Aha…some trickery is afoot!_ Puck thought in delight.

The faerie followed after the yellow garbed superhero. He knew full well that the milk and honey had been swiped from the kitchens. Puck himself was guilty of liberating them from time to time.

Since there was no reason for Booster Gold to be carrying around milk and honey, as well as a tell tale smirk on his face, the faerie knew full well that the mortal was preparing some sort of trap for him.

Deciding that this was currently more interesting than harassing Green Arrow, Puck followed silently after Michael Carter. However, he had no intention of touching the 'bait' until he knew what exactly the trap was. Once he did…

The Puck laughed merrily. The best kind of trickery was when you tricked the tricksters.

…………………………………………………..

Helena Bertinelli kicked her couch. That little…how _dare_ he lie to her!

The Huntress was still having trouble believing what Dr. Rodor had told her. However, she knew that the old man had no reason to lie to her. The Question, Charles Victor Szasz, was really a faerie named Puck.

What perhaps irritated her the most, was that she had risked her _life _to rescue that man from Cadmus. What had been the point if he could have simply transformed into a faerie and gotten out himself!?

Tot had tried to explain to her that the machine the Question had been hooked up to had contained traces of iron. Already previously injured from Luthor, if the Question had turned into a fae, Cadmus would have had no problems in containing him, especially as Tala had been working for them at the time.

However, the Italian-American wasn't ready to calm down. She still needed to vent her frustration with the main problem: being lied to.

Helena donned her Huntress costume and left her apartment. Beating up some thugs should calm her mind. Then, perhaps, she could figure out why Q hadn't trusted her with his secret.

That perhaps upset her the most. He'd better have a damn good apology the next time she saw him.


	8. Tricking the Tricksters

_Disclaimer: I don't own JLU, Shakespeare's __A Midsummer Night's Dream__, or Disney's __Gargoyles__ (of which I've borrowed many ideas, especially from the episode 'The Mirror.)_

Original Prankster

**Chapter 8: Tricking the Tricksters  
**

"So…you think this will work?" Zatanna asked. She and Black Canary studied the iron box in front of them.

"I don't know…isn't it too small?" Dinah asked. "We don't want to crush the poor thing." The box was just large enough to contain a medium sized child.

"Poor thing?" Mr. Terrific gaped, having overheard the two women. "Have you _seen_ what he's done?"

"Under orders from Luthor," Zatanna reminded him.

"He's a trickster," Terrific said stubbornly.

"He hasn't hurt anyone," the magician countered. The man sighed and retreated from the conversation. The women ignored him and returned to studying the iron box. Zatanna had to admit that it probably was too small. She'd only gotten one glimpse of the elf and he hadn't exactly been tall, but still…

"_Negralne xob,"_ the magician ordered, pointing her wand at her creation. The box grew twice its size.

"Uh…should I add air holes?" Zatanna asked. "I mean, do faeries even breathe air like humans do?"

"How should I know?" Dinah asked. "You're the one with magic powers. Shouldn't you know?"

"_Air holes?_" Mr. Terrific asked, bringing himself accidentally back into the conversation. He received two female glares.

"Well we don't want to suffocate him!" Zatanna snapped. Michael Holt gulped and returned to coordinating the search for the illusive faerie. The magician turned back to Dinah Lance.

"And just because I use magic doesn't mean I'm a faerie expert," she added. "That's why Inza's here!"

"Okay okay, I'm sorry," Dinah replied. There was a pause.

"He is kind of cute, isn't he?" Zatanna asked slyly.

"He's probably too old for you," Dinah quipped. "Aren't faeries supposed to be centuries old?"

"That's not stopping Diana from trying to date Bruce," Zatanna pointed out.

"Point taken."

There was another audible sigh from Mr. Terrific.

"He's probably already taken," Zatanna mused. "Probably some beautiful faerie princess…"

"Zatanna…" Dinah sighed, snapping her fingers in front of the other woman's face. "Focus."

"Please…a girl can still look," Zatanna protested. "Come on, isn't his hair gorgeous?"

Dinah sighed darkly. It was absolutely unfair. No man, even if a faerie, should have nicer hair than her.

It was galling, but she couldn't help but wonder if faerie women had even nicer hair than the men.

……………………………………………………………………

Puck hummed softly to himself as he hovered invisible over the heads of Blue Beetle and Booster Gold. The two men snickered as they made a last inspection of their bait of milk and honey.

The faerie had since figured out that the treats had been tampered with in some way. He had a strong suspicion on what had been done.

Puck ticked off the possibilities. Were they trying to drug him? No…neither man was exceptionally gifted intellectually, but they were clever enough to realize that human drugs wouldn't necessarily work on a fae.

Transmitters? The faerie dwelled on this thought. It was likely. Tiny transmitters could easily be hidden in milk and honey. If there were transmitters, they would probably use the Watchtower's transporters to try to trap him in…

"Hey Canary, is the box ready yet?" Blue Beetle asked, touching the communication link in his ear.

Puck smiled. He wasn't the Question for nothing.

The question though, was what kind of box? The only kind that could potentially hold him was one made out of iron or rowan.

The thought of being trapped inside a box of iron caused Puck's face to pale. The chains that Tala had placed him in were partially made of iron, true enough, but they weren't completely iron. True iron had not only the potential to injure the faerie, but to kill him.

Being in a human body afforded some protection against iron, but not much. Thankfully there wasn't much pure iron on the space station, however most metals in the human world contained at least trace amounts of iron.

There was a reason that 'Vic Sage' dressed in gloves and a trench coat when he was the Question. As fascinating as the human world was, it was _cold_. Concrete streets, stone buildings, metal automobiles…things that weren't necessarily friendly to a magical being that was tied closely to the natural world.

"_It's ready,"_ Canary answered. _"All you have two have to do is get Puck to take the bait."_

"Hey, don't worry about us," Booster Gold said confidently. "We've got it covered."

Puck smiled innocently.

…………………………………………..

Helena Bertinelli sat silently on top of a skyscraper, sipping on a soda as she scanned the Gotham cityline. She had managed to calm down enough to think more rationally. However, the young woman was still angry with being lied to.

But, dammit, she still loved the man.

The Huntress looked up at the night sky and wondered where her boyfriend was. Tot had said that Puck was a trickster and the name did ring a bell. The definition of trickster certainly did fit her Q. The man had more than once taken great pleasure in secretly antagonizing other members of the League.

A sudden thought struck the Huntress and she pulled out her cell phone. The phone began ringing, only to be answered by a somewhat agitated Black Canary.

"_Helena? What do you want? We're a bit busy here."_

"We?" Helena asked curiously. "What's the League facing this time?" She was answered by a muttered curse on the other end.

"_Uh…well…"_ Dinah started. The woman sighed and reluctantly gave the Huntress the abridged version of Puck's escapades. Helena bit down on her lip to prevent herself from laughing.

"So…uh…have you guys caught him yet?" the Huntress asked when the other woman was finished. The Black Canary gave an agitated snort.

"_We've got it taken care of,"_ Dinah answered hotly. _"We're currently working on a plan to capture him. We certainly don't need __your__ help."_

"I wasn't offering it," Helena shot back. She didn't bother to hide the smile that was growing on her face.

"_Good."_ There was a pause. _"Huntress, why exactly did you call me?" _Dinah asked suspiciously.

"I was looking for Q," Helena answered honestly. "Did he ever show up for work?"

"_I don't think so, but I'm not sure,"_ Black Canary answered. _"It's been crazy up here. I'll try to let you know for sure. If he's still missing in a few hours, let me know. Ollie and I can help you find him if he's in trouble."_

"Okay, thanks Canary."

"_Please, I wasn't doing it for you, Witch. Question's a fellow Leaguer."_

"Well, this witch is going to kick your butt the next time we meet Canary."

"_In your dreams Huntress."_

"Bye Dinah."

"_Bye Helena."_

_**Click.**_

Helena Bertinelli closed her cell phone and leaned back to watch the stars. Within seconds, she found herself unable to contain a storm of laughter.

…………………………………..

"So…Ted…any sign of Puck yet?" Booster Gold whispered into his communication link.

"_Nope. No sign of Pointy Ears yet."_

Michael Carter sighed. He and Blue Beetle had hidden themselves where they hoped the faerie wouldn't be able to spot them. The bottles of honey and milk sat innocently on the floor, next to the corridor wall.

Both men had held a heated debate on where exactly to place the bait. All the options seemed to make it too obvious of a trap. After some discussion, they had decided that the more obvious the trap was, the more likely that a certain trickster would investigate.

"Perhaps he is already here," Skeets suggested helpfully. "Puck has already shown the ability to make himself invisible."

Booster Gold rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Then he yawned.

The worst part about springing a trap was waiting.

………………………………….

Puck snickered silently as Booster Gold and Blue Beetle soon fell into a deep sleep, victims of yet another faerie spell. With another wave of his fingers, he cast an illusion around the miniature robot trying to wake the yellow garbed superhero.

The faerie flew over to the milk and honey. He then sat down cross legged on the ground and studied the 'bait.'

It looked tantalizingly delicious. However, the clever being restrained himself.

"_Alright,"_ Puck thought cheerfully. _"Time to teach these amateurs a lesson!"_

The faerie gleefully rubbed his hands together before holding them over the honey and milk. Soft, magic light began to glow around his fingers and soon extended over the treats.

"_Trick the Puck claim they,"_ the faerie sang. _"Trick the mortals say I. What foul devices lie amongst my gifts; lay you now amongst the gifters!"_

The magic glow subsided. Puck picked up the milk with a smirk and quickly downed the entire jug. He considered the sleeping heroes for a moment and then looked back down at his honey.

"Oh well, why not?" Puck asked himself. "I need a break anyway." A spoon magically appeared in his hand, which the faerie plunged immediately into the honey. He gave a sigh of pleasure as the sweet treat filled his belly.

…………………………………………….

Clark Kent sighed as she faced off against Parasite. Fighting him was bad enough due to his abilities. However, Parasite had come to the conclusion that Superman actually made a 'hot woman'. Since then, all attempts to steal Clark's powers had also turned into attempted groping attacks.

"Hey sweet thing…" Parasite called out, whistling at the woman. Clark bristled.

"Alright, no more Girl Scout," she muttered. The Kryptonian shot a pair of lasers out of her eyes, aimed at a very strategic part of Parasite. The supervillain blanched and zoomed out of the way.

"What's the matter Parasite," Clark taunted sweetly. "Haven't you ever heard of castration?"

The supervillain froze in shock, either from the threat itself or because of the fact it had come from the Kryptonians's mouth. Clark took it as an opportunity to smash a piece of machinery into the man's face.

……………………………………..

Ted Kord woke up with a start. He rubbed his eyes and immediately forgot that he'd just woken up from a deep sleep. The Blue Beetle looked down at the tracking device in his hands and nearly jumped.

"Booster! Booster!" he whispered excitedly. "We've got contact!"

_"Look over by the wall!"_ Booster replied back. _"They're empty!"_

Blue Beetle looked over at the bait and saw that indeed the milk and honey were gone. The superhero felt himself grow cautious, as apparently neither he nor Michael had noticed the faerie take the bait.

"Uh…Booster? I'm not sure if…"

_"Let's get him! Let's get the little bastard,"_ Michael Carter urged. Ted looked down at the instrument in his hands. The tiny transmitters that Puck had swallowed showed that the faerie was down the next corridor.

At least, that's what he thought he saw. A faerie illusion prevented him from seeing the real location of the transmitters.

Blue Beetle took a deep breath and tapped the communication link in his ear.

"Canary, Zatanna….we're ready," he whispered.

"_He took the bait?"_ Zatanna asked.

"Hook, line, and sinker," Beetle smirked.

"_Then let's get him,"_ she replied. _"We're transporting now."_

……………………………

Black Canary and Zatanna's first clue that the plan had failed came from the extremely loud cursing and yelling from inside the iron box.

"Where the hell are we!?" Booster wailed. "I can't move!"

"Get your foot out of my face!" Beetle yelled back.

"I told you I can't move!"

"Oh yes, they got him 'hook, line, and sinker," Zatanna smirked. Dinah sauntered nonchalantly over to the iron box and peered in through one of the air holes.

"Your day of tyranny comes to an end, Puck," she taunted.

"Canary! It's us! Not Puck!" Blue Beetle pleaded.

"Get us out of here!!" the other would be trickster begged. Dinah turned to look at Zatanna and the two women shared a mischievous smile.

"How do we know that one of you isn't Puck?" Dinah asked innocently. "If I let you both out, the real Puck might escape."

"**FOR THE LOVE OF GOD CANARY!!"**

"I don't know, should we let them out Zatanna?" Black Canary asked sweetly. "It's a huge risk after all. Perhaps we should leave them in there…"

"We'll do anything! ANYTHING!" Booster Gold promised.

There was a pause.

"Anything?" the women asked.

The sounds of a cursing Blue Beetle could be heard across the room.

…………………………………………

Puck laughed merrily to himself as he flew through the Watchtower. That little escapade had been fun, but now the faerie was again after his intended target.

Oliver Queen.

However, the faerie was again forced to stop his quest when he felt a familiar presence near him. Puck whirled around to see a familiar goddess floating in the air.

"Long time, no see…Puck," Circe smiled. The faerie hid his surprise as he floated over to the Greek goddess.

"What brings you here?" he asked. The goddess smiled coyly as she reached out to run a finger through his silver hair.

"Why…you do _Puck_," she crooned seductively. The faerie raised an amused eyebrow.

"You do of course realize I'm already taken," he said. The goddess made a show of pouting as she circled around the faerie.

"Come now Puck, how can a mortal woman be more appealing than me?"

Puck felt a spark of alarm, however he hid it expertly. As fun as the day had been so far, Helena's safety was far more important.

"Relax," Circe smiled. "I may be many things, but I'd never touch anyone that the Puck was interested in."

"Well that's good to know," the faerie replied cheerfully. However, he still didn't allow himself to relax. Not around this woman.

"I'm actually disappointed you haven't done anything to Diana yet," Circe pouted. The faerie smirked at her.

"Give me time," he promised. "I'm just a humble faerie…not a god." Puck watched carefully as the smile on the goddess's face broadened.

"But of course," she smiled. She leaned in close to the faerie and blew him a teasing kiss. After a show of thought, she whispered in his ear.

"I know you love challenges, my faerie friend. How would you like it if I took the game to a _new_ level?"

Before even Puck could react, the goddess planted a kiss on his cheek and disappeared. The faerie frowned ever so slightly. He didn't trust Circe. He never did.

He then teleported quickly through the Watchtower. Luthor had ordered him to prevent the Injustice League from being captured. However, he had never stated that they couldn't be captured by Puck himself.

Whatever Circe was planning to do, Puck intended to get the rogue Injustice League members out of the way first.


	9. A Brewing Storm

**Original Prankster**

_Chapter 9: A Brewing Storm_

Circe smirked as she flew silently through thick stone walls. A magical barrier had been erected around the castle she had breeched, but the goddess's power had been more than enough to overcome it. She finally came to a large room. A warm fire burned in an ancient hearth.

"Not a step more."

Ah, there was her quarry. Morgaine Le Fae stepped protectively in front an elderly man, incapacitated by his own age. Drool dripped down his frail chin.

"Why hello Morgaine," Circe greeted her cheerfully.

"What do you want Circe?" Morgaine asked warningly. She eyed the goddess through her mask. The two women had crossed paths before, albeit briefly.

"Relax child. I'm not here to harm you or your brat," Circe replied coyly. "In fact, I'm here to help."

"From what I know about you, you don't just "help" people randomly. What is your purpose here?"

"I'm here for my own amusement," Circe answered honestly. "But you may get something out of it if you play your cards right."

Morgaine relaxed slightly, but she didn't let down her guard. She waited patiently for the other woman to explain.

"Titania's Mirror is currently in "possession" of Lex Luthor," the goddess explained. Morgaine raised an eyebrow. She hadn't missed the wry tone in Circe's voice.

"Possession?" Morgaine asked carefully. Circe laughed.

"Technically he thinks he possesses it. The mortal's trying to control a faerie with it."

"Why does this concern me?" the half-sister of Arthur Pendragon asked. "I have a son to take care of."

"Exactly," Circe smirked. There was a pause.

"Explain," Morgaine demanded.

"Oh please, Morgaine dear. I think you do understand. You yourself are half-fae. Surely you understand the power of the mirror."

Morgaine Le Fae was silent as she considered this. Such power might enable her to help her son. It might even enable her to restore his youth.

"Just consider, Morgaine dear," Circe added slyly. "It's on the Justice League Watchtower at this moment. You might not get another chance."

"I'm interested," Morgaine finally said. "However, as this is for your own 'amusement', I can't consent to taking part of your game."

"You will if you want to try to help your son," Circe smirked. With a nonchalant wave, the goddess vanished. A scowling Morgaine was left to consider her words.

………………………………..

Puck considered his options as he flew through the Watchtower. Luthor had ordered him to rescue any of them in danger of being caught by the Justice League. However, he hadn't ordered that Puck himself couldn't catch them.

There was a catch though. Since he was also the Question, Puck was technically part of the League. However, as no one else knew that, the faerie figured that he wasn't bound by that logic. At least, as long as he avoided his human form.

The faerie suddenly smiled to himself. Just ahead of him, the Shade was walking silently in the shadows.

Oh dear, what to do? It was a simple matter to simply grab the man and send him back to the Legion's headquarters. The Shade wouldn't even know what had happened until it was over.

But that wouldn't be fun.

With a whispered spell from the faerie, the ground turned into mud. The Shade gave a surprised gasp as slipped in the muck. Another flick of his hand turned the other man's clothing into a shade of bright pink.

Okay, that was good enough. He had to leave his mark after all.

Puck slipped silently behind the cursing man and grabbed his jacket. With a poof, the two males disappeared. The faerie gave the scowling villain a mischievous wink.

"You!" The Shade yelled.

"Bye bye Shadey!" Puck taunted. The Shade raised his staff to attack the fae, but Puck merely turned intangible. The faerie waved goodbye and unceremoniously kicked the tall man through Titania's Mirror.

One down. Four more to go.

………………….

From the moment he teleported to the Watchtower, J'onn J'onzz had begun to feel a headache. Perhaps this was due to the high amount of tension that he felt around the space station.

Coincidentally, he could feel tension from both the League _and_ the Legion.

"I do not feel the Shade's presence here," J'onn finally said. He'd been scanning the minds of the station's current occupants, searching for the intruders.

"Are you sure?" Mr. Terrific asked. "We know he's here."

"I do not feel his presence," J'onn repeated. "I believe that he is no longer here."

"Great," Terrific muttered sarcastically. "Is that a good or a bad thing?"

The Martian didn't answer. Instead, he continued his mental search. Diana and Clark were currently fighting Parasite. Livewire was currently in the League's detention center. Luthor and Tala were near the shuttle bay.

J'onn detected another mind, far more ancient than the others, closing in on Livewire's location. Strangely, the Martian man felt something oddly familiar when he touched this mind. The faerie had immediately blocked him out the instant he had felt J'onn's presence.

"Puck is trying to rescue Livewire," J'onn stated.

"I'll send…" Terrific started to say.

"No, I'll go," the other man answered. J'onn allowed his body to turn intangible and he floated down through the floors.

Mr. Terrific pressed a finger to the communication system. Whether the Martian wanted it or not, he was sending back up.

"Dr. Fate, J'onn is going after Puck. He thinks that he's trying to rescue Livewire."

"_I'm on my way,"_ Dr. Fate answered.

……………………….

Puck wasn't too terribly pleased with his situation. The miniature, childlike Livewire was currently screaming obscenities at him. The situation wasn't improved by the immediate arrival of J'onn J'onzz and Dr. Fate.

"Puck," J'onn said gravely. "Please discontinue your activities."

Damn. Of all people in the League, other than Batman, these two were the ones that Puck would rather not fight.

"Puck can't," the faerie answered cheerfully. "Luthor ordered him to rescue all Legion members who are captured or in danger of capture. I'm bound by magic."

The other two men shared a brief look.

"I don't want you to rescue me!" Livewire shrieked. "You're the one who did this to me."

"Oopsie," Puck lied. "My mistake."

"Neither of us believe that your intent is ill," Dr. Fate finally said. "If you let us, we can help free you from Luthor's control."

Puck considered that. He knew they would try to help. The faerie was also conscious of the clock ticking. Circe's threats were never given idly.

"Luthor has to release me of his own free will," the faerie finally said. "He can't be forced, otherwise the spell won't dispand."

At any other time, Puck would gladly try to trick these two men. It would be a fun challenge. Unfortunately, he didn't think he could chance it right now.

"How do you plan to get him to do that?" Dr. Fate asked.

"Well, I had kind of hoped that if he gets sick of me hanging around, he'll let me go," Puck said slyly.

An amused look briefly crossed J'onn J'onzz's face.

"That would be why you are also harassing the Legion," the Martian replied. "You should be careful Puck. Luthor is the kind of man who is more likely to kill you than to let you go freely."

Puck's face darkened. Dr. Fate and the Martian Manhunter eyed him warily.

"I know what kind of man he is," Puck finally said. There was a pause.

"I'm here to send her back home," the faerie added. "Luthor ordered me to protect them from being captured by the League. He said nothing about _me _capturing them."

"Luthor's not going to let you go if you capture them all," Dr. Fate pointed out.

"I don't have a choice," Puck smiled wryly. "Whether you choose to believe me or not, Circe's decided to get involved. I have no idea what she's going to do, but it's going to get messy. That's why I'm trying to get the Legion out of the way."

Dr. Fate looked at J'onn. _"Do you think he's telling the truth?"_ he asked silently. J'onn nodded his head slightly.

"_Bruce said that she appeared to him,"_ J'onn answered back.

"Very well," the Martian finally said out loud. "We'll let you take care of the Legion."

"J'onn?" Dr. Fate questioned.

"I do not believe he's lying to us," J'onn answered. "While it would be better for us to capture the Legion members here and turn them into the authorities, it may not be possible for us right now."

Puck hid a sigh of relief. Instead, he gave an impish smile and saluted the other two Leaguers.

"Just leave it to Puck," he promised. He grabbed a protesting Livewire and winked out. Now alone, Dr. Fate again eyed his fellow Leaguer.

"Do you think this is wise?" he asked. "While I too do not believe his intentions are malevolent, he is still a trickster."

"I know," J'onn answered. "We'll deal with that soon enough.

……………………………

Luthor scowled. It hadn't taken him long to realize that Puck had tricked him. No other being on the station would have trapped him and Tala in an illusion. If a Justice Leaguer had been capable of it, he or should would have also captured them.

The faerie was going to pay dearly for it.

"Shade, give me an update," Luthor ordered, speaking into his comlink. There was no answer. "Shade?" Again, no reply.

"Parasite, where are you?"

"_I'm a bit busy right now,"_ Parasite answered. _"Wonder Woman and Super…uh…woman are…__**what the hell**__?"_

The line went dead.

"Parasite! Parasite!" Luthor yelled. What was going on? He had ordered Puck to protect them from harm and capture. Had the faerie found someway to circumvent his orders?

Or had the faerie himself been injured or captured?

"I think it's time for us to leave Tala," Luthor finally said. "Things have gotten out of my control."

And if there was anything that Luthor hated, it was not being in control.


	10. Mounting Chaos

**Original Prankster**

_Chapter 10: Mounting Chaos_

Morgaine le Fae gently wiped her son's face. Putting down the rag, she picked up a small bowl of apple sauce and began to spoon feed the elderly man. Circe's visit continued to occupy her thoughts.

"_It's on the Justice League Watchtower at this moment. You might not get another chance."_

The sorceress suddenly put the apple sauce down. A game of Circe's or not, the half-fae was not about to let this opportunity slip through her fingers. The power of Titania's Mirror was enormous. Such power could enable her to reverse the aging of her son and perhaps even restore his powers.

The problem, of course, was Titania herself. There were few individuals on the Earth that Morgaine was reluctant to cross and the faerie queen was one of them.

Oberon was one of the others.

"I don't have a choice," she murmured. She gently stroked her son's cheek. "I'll be back as soon as I can, my dear child."

The sorceress vanished in a flash of light.

………………………

Lex Luthor and Tala were near the Watchtower's shuttle bay when a certain faerie deigned to show himself. Luthor bit his lip in agitation, but cut short the threat he was about to launch at the magical being. Irate or not, he was quite aware that now wasn't the time to launch into a deadly tirade that might end with a dead elf.

For the time being, he still needed Puck if he wanted to leave the Watchtower.

Even so, however….

"You…" Luthor hissed. "You trapped us in an illusion!"

"You were going to cut the oxygen output in parts of the station, even _I_ need to breathe," Puck answered innocently. Though, to be quite fair, Luthor hadn't been anywhere the actual monitoring room.

"If you trapped us in an illusion, then you were near us and not in an area that I was going to cut the oxygen to," Luthor growled.

"I might have had business in those areas," Puck cryptically replied. Lex raised an eyebrow, but he was thrown to his feet before he could ask. The station shook for a few, hair raising seconds before it stopped.

"What the _hell_ was that?" Lex asked.

"I sense powerful magic," Tala answered. Floating above the two humans, Puck's face froze momentarily with worry.

"Morgaine le Fae," the faerie answered calmly. Puck silently cursed Circe. The only thing that could have drawn Arthur Pendragon's half sister to the station was Titania's Mirror.

"What!?" Tala exclaimed. "What is _that_ witch doing here!?" The sorceress's forehead glistened in sweat. The bald headed man at her side rubbed his chin in deep thought as he considered their options.

"Puck, what happened to the rest of our team?" Lex asked suspiciously.

"I sent them back already," Puck answered truthfully. "You told me to rescue them if in danger, so I sent them back home." Lex debated on whether or not to be angry. Again, he decided to deal with it later.

"It's time for us to go," Lex ordered.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple," Puck answered. His eyes twinkled with hidden merriment as Lex glared at him.

"Explain," Luthor commanded.

"One of the Leaguers took the Mirror and is holding it hostage," Puck answered. "Morgaine may also be here for it as well."

"Meaning we'll have to fight for it," Tala finished.

"How do I know you're telling me the truth?" Luthor asked.

"Pfff…I already told you Lexie, the truth is flexible. I have never told you a lie," the faerie answered flippantly. "The spell that binds me to you prevents me from lying to you anyway."

"Meaning that your 'interpretation' is open to question," Lex growled. "Who has the mirror?" The faerie's smile widened.

"Tis a _question_ to consider," Puck replied. Amusement flickered across his face.

"What does that mean?" Luthor asked suspiciously. The faerie shrugged nonchalantly.

"A question with an unknown answer."

"Enough with the riddles!" Lex finally yelled. "Give me a straight answer!"

"It is a Leaguer with magical capabilities," the Puck added. "But I didn't see his face."

"_Who_?" Lex asked again. Tala placed a calming hand on his shoulder.

"He doesn't know," she said. Lex calmed down after a moment.

"Do you know _where_ it is?" he finally asked.

"Good question," Puck replied. "I can sense its general direction, but something is blocking me." He neglected to mention that the only thing blocking him was his lack of desire.

Lex sighed. Apparently leaving the station wasn't going to be very easy. He wondered, not for the first time, why he had listened to Tala about Puck and the mirror.

"Lead the way," he finally said. The silver haired faerie gave him a mock salute.

"Right away, Lexie Boy!"

When this was all over, Lex vowed to have a glass of whiskey and crawl into bed. After that, he wanted nothing more to do with faeries.

………………………………………….

Morgaine le Fae calmly surveyed her surroundings. She hadn't bothered to hide her sudden presence on the Justice League Watchtower. With a telepath and several magic users in the League, it seemed a mute point.

She paused a moment to catch her breath. The power necessary to teleport to an orbiting space station was not by any means small. Faint wrinkles on her hands were testimony of how much magic had been required.

Had she still been a young woman, then this would not even be an issue. Unfortunately, however, her half faerie blood had only extended her longevity. It hadn't seen fit to give either her or even Merlin, the son of King Oberon, endless youth.

Not a matter to fret over, however. Her immediate problem could be easily rectified.

"Who is she?" Concerned murmurings floated in the small, contained mechanical room. Men and women garbed in blue uniforms stared in alarm at the intruder. After a moment of searching, Morgaine pointed a finger at a young man in his twenties.

"You," she commanded. "Come here."

The young man was forcibly picked up by her magic. His skin paled in terror as he suddenly found himself within arms reach of the sorceress.

"Let him go!!" An older man led a courageous charge against her; however the sorceress knocked them away with a flick of magic. Morgaine pressed an aging hand against the man's head and felt his precious life energy drain into her.

Now refreshed and newly rejuvenated, Morgaine le Fae let the now frail and withered man crumple to the floor.

…………………….

"Morgaine le Fae is here."

All eyes turned to the sole Martian in the room. Shayera and Zatanna both swore under their breath, though one more loudly than the other.

"This must be Circe's 'gift' to Puck," Dr. Fate noted wryly.

"And a curse for us," Mister Terrific added. "I just got a report from mechanical room 17. She got one of our tech guys…they're rushing him to the infirmary now, for whatever good it will do."

"What's his name?" Zatanna asked, making a mental note to visit the poor man later.

"Fareed Bonjani, age twenty-seven…or at least he was."

"This is what Puck feared," J'onn said quietly. "He was telling the truth."

"But why is she here?" Shayera asked. "I doubt she'd come here unless she wanted something. Morgaine's not the type to do someone a personal favor."

There was momentary silence in the control room.

"The Mirror," Dr. Fate answered. "She must be after Titania's Mirror."

J'onn closed his eyes and searched for his quarry. Although Morgaine had closed her mind to him, he sensed that she was somewhere on the level below. Closing in on her location, was Puck, Luthor, and Tala.

'_This will not end well_,' J'onn thought grimly. Although Puck also was not letting the Martian into his mind, he was able to pick up the faerie's hidden irritation. It did not take much reflection to realize that Puck was quite unhappy with his predicament.

"_Bruce?"_ J'onn asked telepathically. His friend was currently with Diana and Clark, trying to track down a missing mirror.

"_I'm going to call a friend for help,"_ Bruce answered back. _"Just in case we need him."_

…………………………

Jason Blood was counting out change for a soda machine when his cell phone rang. His Pepsi craving would apparently have to wait.

"Bruce?"

"_Jason, this is an emergency."_

"Your voice…" Jason trailed off. Something seemed different about the other man's voice.

"_What about it?"_ Batman asked darkly. The ex-knight backed off, although he was still curious to know why his voice sounded less than human at the moment.

If anything, he sounded somewhat like a donkey…if donkeys could speak.

"Nothing," Jason replied, staring forlornly at the soda machine. He probably wouldn't have time for a soda, especially since Morgaine was probably involved somehow. "What kind of situation?"

"_Lex Luthor. A sorceress named Tala. Puck. Circe. Morgaine le Fae. Titania's Mirror,"_ Bruce answered curtly. Jason felt the wheels in his mind slowly grind to a halt. He was reasonably sure that the mental equivalent of a nuclear bomb had just gone off in his brain.

Jason's left eye began to twitch.

"Dammit," he muttered.

"_Puck?"_ Etrigan asked. _"What is he doing with the likes of them?"_

"_We'll find out,"_ Jason silently promised his other half. _"Besides, that little rascal still owes me money."_

"_You do realize that you're never going to get that back, don't you Blood?"_ the demon asked dryly. Jason chose to ignore his companion as he finally found a voice to answer the questioning Dark Knight.

"Why is Puck there?" he finally asked. _'You're going to owe me a Pepsi after this, you silvered haired hellion!!' _Jason silently swore. He felt, rather than heard, Etrigan chuckle in the back of his mind.

Bruce Wayne's sigh of frustration was easily conveyed over the phone. In a few short sentences, he quickly summarized the day's events.

"Shall I bring extra strength Tylenol?" Jason finally asked. Joking aside, both Jason and Etrigan were now deadly serious…

…About both the Tylenol _and_ the brewing catastrophe on the Watchtower.

……………………………………..

"Are you certain it is this way?" Tala asked suspiciously. She and Lex were currently following the faerie through the Watchtower. Under orders from Luthor, Puck had made their little group invisible to passing mortal eyes.

"Why?" Lex asked her. Being the only non-magic user in the group, he was blind to Morgaine le Fae's whereabouts.

"I sense the witch's power in front of us," Tala stated uneasily. Luthor turned his eyes to look at the floating fae.

"Puck?" Luthor warned. The faerie held out his hands in apology.

"The mirror is this way," he stated.

"Then let's find away _around_ Morgaine to get to it," Lex sighed. "Use your magic."

A pair of blue eyes sparkled with mischief.

"As you command," Puck replied. His lips twitched with barely hidden humor.

As Luthor had not seen fit to command him to teleport_ to_ the mirror, Puck began to lead them on a winding, wayward journey around Morgaine le Fae. While he was at it, he threw off deliberate sparks of fae magic.

After nearly two minutes of baiting Morgaine, the sorceress finally decided to investigate the source of faerie magic. She believed, correctly, that this source probably knew where to find Titania's Mirror.

However, she was greeted to a most unexpected sight.

"**Morgy!!! Long time no see!!!"**

A cheerful, silvered haired faerie, his upper body wrapped in a metal chain, zipped wildly through the wide corridor. He came to a sudden halt and swiftly pulled the golden mask off of her face before she could react. The trickster tweaked her nose and winked out, only to reappear farther down the hallway.

A man and woman, both unknown to the sorceress, cautiously watched the proceedings.

Puck held the golden mask up to his face and began to dance merrily about the corridor.

Morgaine le Fae was unable to stop the horrified groan that escaped her throat.


End file.
